Sonic Legends Finale (Part 1 of 3): Inferno
by jweaks2016
Summary: After a mysterious enemy kidnaps Blaze, Sonic and his team must track her down and save her with the help of a few friends. But Blaze has changed. With enemies coming back from the past, a much more nefarious plot for Mobius is uncovered, and Blaze seems to be the key for its success. Sonic and the others will have to risk it all to save their home from utter destruction.
1. Back in the Ringer

**Hello all and welcome to the first part of the Sonic Legends finale! To all of those who've stuck with the series up until this point, I just wanted to thank you all. I never thought that when I wrote Sonic Legends: Fire and Ice that I'd get such a positive response from so many people. I wasn't a big hit in my previous fandom, the Kung Fu Panda one that is, and I didn't expect anything to change in this fandom. In the old fandom, I was used to getting MAYBE 2,000 views on a story, but now the first story I wrote has over 8,000 and we (I say we because you guys helped make this series what it it) got over 5,000 views on each of the two after that.**

 **If you're a detective and have been paying attention to clues I've been dropping since the first story, then well done. We'll see if you got it right ;)**

 **Like last story, in order for things to be fresh in people's minds, I will insert every clue and fact over the past 3 stories written that lead up to this story. Please enjoy part one of the finale! It'll be a blast.**

*Previously on Sonic Legends*

"I was sent by the Frostbite Council to…" The guest started as he pulled out his holodisk, opened it up, and started to read it, "…Travel to blah blah blah, destination and coordinates, and find the last know pyrokinetic in the universe known as Blaze the Cat. Eliminate her and you will receive fame, wealth, and a position on the council. Failing to do so will result in debt, public shaming, and death by extreme heat."

After putting away the disk, a shocked Blizzard looked up at the horrified expressions of the heroes, except for Shadow, who raised an eyebrow.

"That's my first time reading it, I swear." The white cat added, holding his arms in the air.

* * *

"Why do you act like that?" Blizzard asked, bits of corndog flying from his mouth.

"Act like what?" Sonic questioned, turning to face the icy cat.

"That! That right there! She obviously is in to you, so why don't you go for it?"

"I don't know, I mean she's just so…clingy." The Blue Blur replied awkwardly, rubbing the back of his head.

"She loves ya, bro. The only way she'll ever leave ya alone is if ya give her a shot," Blizzard continued, waving his snack in the air while he spoke. "You need to CHILL out when it comes to being around her. Get it? CHILL out? Anyway, all I'm saying is that you gotta be nicer."

* * *

"BLAZE THE CAT!" The main council member boomed. "YOU ARE SENTENCED TO DEATH TO PROTECT THIS AND OTHER DIMENSIONS!"

* * *

"YOU TRAITOR!" A council member shouted, shooting beams of blue light at the cat, who in turn dodged them.

"I'm not letting you murder someone who hasn't even done anything wrong!" Blizzard spat, summoning a sheet of ice in front of him, which was smashed by a ball of white energy.

"It is not what she has NOT done; it is what she COULD do and WILL do if we do not eliminate her!" Another member added, throwing punches at Blizzard.

The icy cat blasted a member with a gust of wind and snow before bombarding two other members with large hail stones.

"You don't know that!" The cat shot.

"It has happened before!" The main member roared.

"Why haven't I heard about it then?"

"We took care of it before it became an issue! This time it was an issue that we needed your assistance for, but you SCREWED IT UP!" The leader yelled before summoning two sheets of ice around Blizzard and smashing them into the cat and then kicking him off the roof.

* * *

"Is this some sort of game to you?" The lead member boomed, rising from his seat. "This is not a game! This is a matter of survival! If that pyrokinetic walks out of here alive, you will all regret it in the future! She cannot and will not be able to control her powers if...they...get to her. We must eliminate her, or all dimensions will fall, not just yours or ours! Every single one!"

* * *

"You simplistic moron!" The leader growled. "If you happen to beat us, then there is no law in the Frostbite Dimension! You've wiped out the military there and would have killed the rulers! The dimension would spiral into a power struggle; total anarchy would take hold!"

"Sounds like you're just nervous about getting beat by someone as cool looking as myself. I mean, check it out! I look sweet!" Blizzard joked.

"For the sake of our dimension, I WILL NOT let you kill me," The leader stated before charging Blizzard.

* * *

"The disturbances coming from this dimension have stopped," One cat stated walking through the snow storm. "I'm freezing. I'm not built for this wheather."

"Neither am I, but the king wants us to find out what this was all about," The second shot. "Let's just find what we need and get back to the Inferno Dimension."

After about ten minutes of walking, the two cats saw the ruined remnants of the Frostbite facility.

"I wonder if those blasted council members survived," The on cat gawked.

"Probably. Those guys are hard to…Hey! Check this out!" The second called, and the first scout jogged over to his friend.

"A charred and burned body of an enemy soldier," The first observed, "But there are no explosion sites near here. That means…"

"That means that that one of us was here," The soldier finished. "Could it be the king's lost daughter?"

"Hard to tell. We know for certain, though, that another pyrokinetic was here," The first scout concluded, gazing upon the ruined base yet again. "Did they do all this?"

* * *

After about ten minutes of watching the people down below, Shadow grew bored and stood up. As he turned to walk off, he noticed a thin throwing knife that was hovering near his neck.

"That's a very nice pistol you have there, hedgehog," A feminine voice said from his right. "It could go for a lot on the market."

The figure was just barely out of Shadow's peripheral vision, so he couldn't make out who it was.

"I wouldn't recommend doing this. My weapon is very deadly when used properly," The Ultimate Life Form replied, lowering his eyebrows.

"Well in that case, I'll just take those golden wrist and leg bands that you have there and be on my way. They look more valuable anyway," The girl countered. "Nice and easy, and I won't have to clean my blades tonight."

* * *

"Bandit!" Another voice called out, and a male wolf, also around Shadow's age came hovering down from above.

The wolf also had two metal bands around his wrists, but these had a propeller protruding from each one, allowing the wolf to fly through the skies. The newcomer had black, orange, and green combat boots along with open fingered gloves and an orange and black jacket. The wolf was mainly dark brown with long hair, but the tip of his tail was a tan color. He wore orange tinted glasses that had tape around the middle, and a small green ring was in his right eyebrow as well as his right ear.

"Will you ever stop robbing people?" The wolf asked, landing on the rooftop.

"I can handle this on my own. Who are you?" Shadow asked, pointing his gun at the boy now.

The wolf's propellers collapsed and withdrew into his wristbands as he pulled out his own pistol.

"Depends. I can be a friend, or an enemy," The wolf replied. "What about you, dude? You seem to have…anger issues. Enemy?"

"I'm not an enemy, and I DON'T have ANY issues," The Ultimate Life Form seethed.

"Suuuure ya don't. Listen. I've been trying to get Bandit here to stop her criminal ways for a while and become a good guy. I'm someone who wants to help you out," The boy explained, lowering his gun and extending his free hand. "I see she's upset another dude, of whom she's underestimated. Gizmo the Wolf."

"You're thief's gone," Was all Shadow said, making Gizmo turn to find that Bandit had vanished.

"Dang! That always happens!" The wolf complained, pulling out a metal box and tossing it into the air. "Get sidetracked, and then they disappear. Bro, this gets old after a while."

* * *

The Blue Blur was standing in a black area, with ink-like sludge on the ground around him. There were no lights whatsoever, and dead silence was the only thing that accompanied Sonic.

"Hello?" The hedgehog called, his voice echoing in the distance. "Amy? Tails? Knuckles?"

No one replied. Only his voice echoed off the black nothingness, taunting him.

"Anyone?"

Suddenly, a piercing laughter shot through the area, bouncing off every corner in the area. The laugh was deep and menacing, and one of which Sonic heard before, but couldn't place.

"Sonic, you fool. You have given yourself a false sense of security, thinking that I would never return," The voice cackled. "Your immature mindset has paved the way for my comeback, in my new, metallic form."

"Who are you? Show yourself!" The Fastest Thing Alive demanded, looking around.

The laughter kept coming. "The mistakes and foolishness of others will lead to the downfall of Mobius! First, Shadow the Hedgehog will die! Then Silver the Hedgehog! Finally, you will perish."

The sludge around Sonic began to climb up him. The hero began to rip the goo off of him, but it was too strong and was climbing too fast.

"I have seen into the future and have charted out my plan very carefully to the point where all of your friends will die, leaving no one with the same power as I have to stop me!" The voice boomed.

Sonic grunted and ripped more sludge off him, but the ooze was covering him quicker than he could pull it off.

"I will enjoy every second we have together, Sonic. We have so much catching up to do since we last met."

Eventually, the black sludge covered his face and slid inside him. The Blue Blur gagged and fell to the ground, his vision blurring.

"The dark shall rise again," The deep voice stated, and then everything went black.

* * *

"I heard about the massacre in Mobius," Scourge stated, walking into Fiona's room. "I wonder if Sonic and Miles Prower were among those dead."

"One can only hope," Fiona sighed, looking at her boyfriend. "If they are, I wonder if they'd let us throw some flowers."

"Or a grenade," The evil hedgehog countered, smiling sinisterly. "It sure would be an explosive funeral if that were the case."

"Quite. Maybe we could seize control over there as well."

"And overthrow the existing powers there now? It would be a thought, wouldn't it?"

"It would! Ruler over two dimensions! Sounds fantastic!"

The green hedgehog sighed and lowered his glasses. "I'd be the king and you'd be my queen."

Fiona stood up and walked over to the villain. She placed her hand on his right cheek and smiled before pulling him in for a kiss. The two embraced and then fell to the floor and began rolling around.

It wasn't until a portal opened up on the balcony that he two stopped and looked. A red cat with orange streaks of fur on their head walked through and stepped into the room. With nothing but flaming gloves and red-hot metal boots on them, the cat looked to be about seventeen or eighteen and male.

"Scourge the Hedgehog; Fiona Fox; the king of the Burner Dimension requests your presence. Please follow me," The cat stated, then turned and walked through the portal again.

"Who was that?" Fiona asked, standing up.

"I recognize him. He's the only son of the king himself. Prince Ash they call him," Scourge grumbled. "Let's see what His Majesty wants."

* * *

"Come on. I need help up," Shock Charge stated. "Why do you wanna help me anyway?"

"Well, I need your help and Tikal worries about you," The assassin stated, pulling the electric hero off the ground and putting his arm around her shoulder. "You're gonna have to walk a little."

After a ways of creeping in the dark and fighting robots, the two made it out of the base and into the forest. There, they found a good spot to rest, away from the evil base.

"What use am I to you?" The hero asked.

"My dimension is falling apart. We need you to provide a little power for us while we find a better power source. In return, you'll get warm clothes, since we'd be in a cold dimension, food, water, shelter, and protection," Jess replied, obviously having practiced this before.

After a few minutes, Shock Charge nodded and stood up. "It doesn't seem like I have any other option. You saved me, and I refuse to live in my cousin's tribe. Too uncivilized. I'll do it, but I want to meet with Tikal first. I haven't seen her in ages."

* * *

"You're definitely crazy," Mute said, shaking his head. "Start up the portal."

The cat pressed a few buttons on the screen and raised an eyebrow. "Weird."

"What?"

"There have been multiple entry dates in here that I don't think we entered. Mobius around five times, and only one was us. Another had two portal holes to the…Burner dimension. That's one hot place," Blizzard explained. "We didn't enter these."

"Well I mean it's just that I don't want anything bad happening to you like with Iblis and I just feel at ease whenever I'm around you but at the same time nervous and my chest aches and I get a bit sweaty under the pits and your very cool to be around..." The telekinetic babbled. "...And it's not what you think it is unless you want it to be that way then I'm all for it because your very pretty and I don't wanna ever be apart from you and..."

* * *

"Silver! Just ask. You might be surprised..." The cat whispered.

Silver nervously grinned. "I hope in a good way. Anyways… Wanna date?"

Blaze smiled and sighed. "A naïve way to ask out, Silver, but that's what makes you so likeable. I'd love to."

The two hugged each other while Sonic slowly came up between them again, smiling widely.

"I so called it," The blue hero whispered, looking at the two.

* * *

"I'm tired of their meddling in my plans. For too long, I've been the loser in this game. Not anymore. No more Mr. Nice Doctor! I'M—"

The evil scientist cut short when everything around him went dark, and the base went silent.

"Did the base just go dark?" The doctor asked, and a short grunt from one of the two monsters gave the answer of 'yes.' "Well, poop. Looks like we'll have to reboot the systems."

"No systems. Power in base… terminated. Systems…wiped," The Plague stated in a gruff, caveman-like voice.

"How do you know this?" Eggman asked.

Another grunt echoed.

"Fine. It looks like we'll have to relocate. Surely Sonic and his friends are coming for me now. We'll see if you are up to the task when the time comes. Follow me, my creations," The villain ordered, walking out of the room with his new monsters behind him. "I am far from beaten."

* * *

"So we lost Eggman again, huh?" Knuckles muttered, standing next to Sonic.

"Yeah. It's not like he can hide forever, though. He's all but beaten. No robots, no creations, no power; nothing! We'll get him eventually," The blue hero replied.

* * *

Two pyrokinetics jogged up to a pile of debris, overlooking the area of people below. Ducking down behind the rubble, one feline pulled out a pair of binoculars and scoped out the crowd.

"See anything?" His partner asked.

"Not yet… Gimme a sec…" The cat mumbled, and then smirked. "Got her. After all this tracking, we've positioned her here."

The other pyrokinetic yanked the binoculars away from his partner and zoomed in on the hero. "Oh yeah. That's her. Should we report this to King Inferno? I'm sure he'd love to hear the news."

The other cat nodded his head, and the two opened a portal using a small disk, just like in the Frostbite Dimension, and hopped through.

* * *

"Judging by your long list of felonies, Bandit the Raccoon, I can tell you that you're going away for the rest of your life. Maybe even a life after that. I'm sorry, but these crimes are just too extensive to give you any shortened sentence without bail," A judge stated.

The two sat in a court room in an excluded part of Mobius. This small town was not attacked, thankfully, since it was hard to find and was basically off the grid.

"Is there anything I can do to avoid jail time?" The thief asked.

"Well, the only way to avoid jail is to join a hero's team and fight alongside them. It's a new law we're trying out. It's called the Heroic Correctional Actions Law. I came up with that name myself!" The judge stated, sitting up proudly. "I think that you could learn a thing or two from joining a team. Might I recommend this wolf's team? Hm? Gizmo was it?"

"Plot twist. Didn't see that coming," The inventor sighed. "Can't she join another team, dude? Kinda awkward joining a team that has tried to hunt ya down for so long, right?"

"I'm sorry, but there is no one better for her to join than you," The old man said firmly. "I'm not about to annoy the President with having to ship this crook across the dimension in order to join some other team. She'll have to make due with you."

Gizmo threw back his head and sighed loudly. "BRUH. Not cool!"

"I'll take the hero correction whatever," Bandit said, waving her head. "I'm not fit for jail."

* * *

The two stepped back through the portal and into Scourge's room once more.

"Good to be back," Fiona stated, waving her arms around. "Surprising that Sonic and his friends are still alive."

"Whatever. As long as we get paid to help this Inferno guy, I don't care what we do," The green villain seethed.

"Wonder what he wanted Catharsis for. Why would he need a telekinetic anyway?" The fox asked, flopping down on her boyfriend's bed.

"Beats me. Scoot over, babe. I wanna watch TV," Scourge said, grinning devilishly. "All I know is that we get to tear apart Sonic and his friends apart, and that's good enough for me."

* * *

The girl nodded. "You wanna speak to M?"

"M?"

"Mhm. M!"

"Uh…Who's M?"

"The one in charge!" The raccoon replied, looking at him as if Silver had two heads.

"Is he the one that started this whole issue with Blaze and this bill?"

The girl nodded again. "M talks about it all the time. Everyone listens. Even me! All the children and grown-ups come to the center here and listen to him speak, but he only speaks to certain people if he wants to."

A short pause hung in the air.

"M says he doesn't like you. Or Princess Blaze," The girl stated. "He says you're traitors. Betrayers."

This is getting weird…

"M is talking to you right now?" The hero asked.

"Yeah. He doesn't wanna talk to you."

"What does this…M look like?"

The girl shrugged. "Dunno. He never shows himself, but he says true things and so we believe him."

* * *

"PRINCESS! PRINCESS!" A soldier called, bursting into the room. "Every major headquarters for every wealthy adversary of ours was just hit! The leaders were…executed!"

"What?" Blaze gasped, standing up, suddenly grabbing her gunshot wound and sitting down again. "Show me. What's the details."

"We've pulled video footage of the scene. The major one is from Skyler Corp. Check it out," The guard stated, pulling out a large tablet, pressing some buttons and projecting an image on a blank wall.

The video was shot through the security cameras of the business. At first, everything was quiet and normal, but soon, a team of soldiers stormed through the front doors of the building and ordered everyone on the ground.

"These aren't your guys," Silver stated, looking closely. "There's the leader."

Sure enough, a cat emerged from the pack of soldiers, carrying only a revolver and a sly smirk. The team followed close behind, a third taking the elevator and the rest taking the stairs.

The guard switched cameras.

Eventually, the two teams regrouped at the top floor and surged towards the door to the CEO's office.

The cameras switched again.

Breaching, they shot the armed guards who were waiting for them there before the lead cat marched forward. He grabbed the company leader and shoved him out the window, sending the leader on a long fall to the ground. The mysterious cat then turned to the camera, smiling once more, saluting with his revolver before shooting the camera, leaving only static in the image's place.

* * *

"But so many unanswered questions. This attack, M, the cat leading the assault, the villagers suddenly backing down… It seems like someone was toying with us," The purple cat sighed, looking at the telekinetic. "But who?"

A sudden humming from the tablet that the guard left behind drew their attention. Silver picked it up and brought it over so Blaze could see it better. A message was written on the screen.

 _"Do you believe in ghosts? I don't. I believe in being reduced so close to nothingness that you dangle between life and death. I believe that when finding the right determination, you can break the balance and live. I believe that over time, you can build yourself back up to a point where you can now orchestrate the events of the past, present and future so that you may piece the broken shards of time, lost for ages, back together so you may truly exist again. Without those three being united as one, you will have not ever existed. Once combined, you may re-enter the world you tried so hard to change._

 _Think of this as a chess board. You have your pawns and I have mine. We go back and forth, seeing who will win, but you don't know who you're playing against. I do. I've played against you before, and vice versa, but I can see eight moves ahead, and you can't see one. This attack…this team led by that cat…all part of my plan. I influenced the minds of people you have yet to meet. Family. Enemies. I control your movements and actions without your knowledge. I am more powerful than you can ever imagine. The key to destroying everything in someone's life is to have them reach a high point, give them hope, and take it away with one swift movement._

 _When one is pushed to the brink of extinction, they return stronger than ever._

 _Rethink your strategy, you two. My pawns, rooks, knights, bishops and queen surround you while I, the king, sit back and watch. I've been slowly cornering you. Watch out._

 _Check._

 _-M"_

* * *

The doctor sat in the back of the truck in silence, drumming his fingers on the seat. His legs and arms were cuffed, and the door to the outside world was locked. No getting out of here.

Eggman knew that he had failed once more. His indestructible creations were somehow killed. He had a gut feeling. It was looking like he was going to be in prison for the rest of his life for his countless evil deeds.

That is, until a small rift opened up on the opposite side of Eggman.

A cat in full military gear stepped out, carrying a slight smile and holding a revolver.

"Ivo Robotnik?"

"Yes?"

"I have a proposition for you. If you come with me and agree to work on a specific project that will help my father get his daughter, that is, my sister, back, we will give you everything you need, as much as you want as well as complete freedom after you're done," The mysterious feline stated.

"If I refuse?"

The cat motioned around to the jail truck. "Then rot in here."

It seemed like a simple choice, but Eggman didn't know who this was or what he wanted him to build. He also had a feeling that there was something he wasn't being told.

"Deal," The villain said cautiously.

The stranger smiled. "Follow me."

With that, the cat stood the doctor up and pulled him through the portal, closing it behind them after they went through.

* * *

A foe will fall when the mind benders meet

And scorched earth will crackle under heroes' feet.

Tall or small, all heroes will fall

And a heart will be broken by the white out's call.

Two heroes will join the two teams of eight

And attempt to change the Mobian fate.

Only when the task seems dire

Will the opposite wielder seize the Throne of Fire.

The one who bears the fiery ring

Will be joined by brothers to slaughter the king,

And only when the shadow of death stands tall

Will an unlikely hero risk it all.

The clan will return and the spire will rise

But the decision of one will determine who dies.

No matter the origin of the last dying breath,

A friend will harbor the Demon of Death.

* * *

*With Silver, at HQ, two and a half years later*

"Come on, Sonic! Only three miles to go!" Tails cheered, standing on the side of the indoor track at the team's HQ. "Hurry! You can beat your best time!"

The hedgehog shot around a turn on the track and sped ahead, making a sharp right and then a wide left. Wind whipped through the area, which sent Silver flying over the guard rail. The telekinetic steadied himself in midair and floated back over to his spot, clutching the edge for safety. Tails held a stopwatch in his hands and hovered in the air, using his tails to stay aloft. Blizzard stood next to the fox with a giddy expression on his face.

"GO, GO SANIC! GO, GO SANIC!" The icy cat chanted. "GOTTA GO FAST!"

Suddenly, the Blue Blur halted after passing the finish line, panting heavily. "How'd I do?"

"Eighteen miles in fourteen-point-three seconds," Tails reported.

"Come on! I thought I was faster than that!" Sonic complained, stomping his foot.

"Hey, you ran so fast you gave me whiplash, so there's that," Blizzard said, rubbing his neck.

"The first ever Mobian Super Race is in two days and I'm nowhere near my goal!" The blue hero sighed, shaking his feet a little.

"You'll crush the competition anyway. You aren't called the Fastest Thing Alive for nothing," Silver stated. "You're only real competition is your two siblings, Manic and Sonia, someone named Dash the Cheetah and another named Speedy Gonzales."

"Gloating pride here! I need to beat my two sibs or else I'm gonna hear about it for a while!" The Blue Blur exclaimed. "Especially Sonia!"

"So you got a sister?" Blizzard asked, leaning against Silver.

The blue hero turned and pointed and the feline. "Not for you, no."

The cold hero's ears dropped a little. "I see."

"I'm gonna do another run through again and see if I can do better," Sonic panted, jogging back onto the track.

"M'kay. I'm gonna go...somewhere...that doesn't have tornado's whipping through the place," Blizzard said. "I'll be back at some point. I'm gonna head down to the Firefly."

With that, the cold cat made his way downstairs and out the door.

* * *

*With Gizmo, three hours later*

"Look at this!" The wolf exclaimed, motioning around Main Street. "This place is hoppin'! Much busier than the last time I was here."

"You mean when you were failing to capture me?" Bandit asked, twirling her throwing knives and sheathing them in her wrist cuffs.

The inventor looked down and frowned at the raccoon. "Shut it!"

"You two gonna duke it out again?" Dash asked, jogging up to the two.

The cheetah had on green jogging shoes with black socks. A black tank top covered her torso and a green arm band was wrapped around her right bicep. Three gold piercings were in her right ear, and green cargo pants were strapped to her wait by a belt. Her hair was long and wild, clumped together in certain areas, and her whole body was a golden color with black spots all over her. Her hair on her hid was lined with a dark black, and she had piercing blue eyes. Two earbuds were stuck in her ears, and the wire snaked down her side and into her pocket, where a small MP3 sat.

Gizmo's expression softened. "No! Of course not!"

"Good. We've had enough of that for one day. We need to find somewhere to crash for the night so we can wait for the race in a few days," The speedster replied. "I might go to a nightclub tonight. I heard the Firefly is pretty good."

Bandit smirked, walked over and yanked the earbuds out of Dash's ears, and instantly the racer became more timid and shy, looking around cautiously.

"You're a horrible person. This correction thing was a bad idea," The wolf hissed, picking up the headphones and placing them back in Dash's ears.

Once this was done, the familiar, confident smile came back to the girl's face and her stance perked up.

The one thing that was unique about Dash, aside from her amazing speed, was that she was always confident if music was playing. Either in the background or in her ear, if tunes were around, the cheetah was as cocky and full of life as ever, but if there was just random noises, talking or dead silence, she became shy and defensive, not talking to anyone and always cautious.

"Not cool, garbage digger," The racer shot.

"Oh now you wanna go, gazelle muncher?" The ex-thief spat, drawing her throwing knives from her wrist cuffs.

"Aw, these next few days are gonna SUCK!" Gizmo moaned, separating the two.

* * *

*With Eggman, two days later*

"Was your plan a success?" The doctor asked, hunkering down over his latest project.

His latest mysterious employers were certainly good at keeping their word. They supplied him with specific schematics and items, and a specific set of items, and he started construction. It looked awfully like his past Metal Sonic's he had made in the past, but this time it was tweaked to look like a different hero. More like Shadow. Two different forms could be acquired in this project depending on which form this being would want, and an unlimited amount of power could be channeled. Liquid reformium was the material he had to use and was the ONLY material available to him. If damaged, the metal was adjust back to its old form in no time, kind of like what he did with Toxic and The Plague, but this time it was metal, which would be impossible to destroy.

"Yes, it was. Our guest is here, however I believe it will take some...convincing to make them stay. Until we can be fully sure that they're on our side, we would like to keep you and our project a secret for now," The shady male cat stated, loading his revolver.

"Tell me, Prince Ash, for what purpose do Scourge and Fiona serve in this grand scheme? Well, I guess I could ask the same for me," Eggman asked, turning around to face the feline.

Ash tapped his temple with the muzzle of his pistol. "All will be told in due time, doctor. For now, though, your job is to keep working on our friend. When everything's done, let me know, and I'll give you the final piece so that he may live."

* * *

*With Blizzard, at the Firefly, present time, at night*

The cat was seated in a circular booth, smiling slightly as loud techno music blew out the speakers all around him. People were either getting down on the dance floor, talking with others or just sitting in chairs like he was. Motioning for a waitress, the cat ordered a glass of ice water, with extra ice, of course. She brought it over after a few minutes, but as soon as he touched the glass, it completely froze with ice starting to creep onto the waitress's fingers. She yelped in surprise and dropped the glass, which clunked to the ground.

"What the heck, freak?" She spat, staring daggers at the hero before walking off.

"Wait, what? No! No, no, no! It was an accident! I didn't...and she's gone," Blizzard sighed, slumping back into his chair.

He looked at his hands and hardened his expression slightly.

 _What was that? That's new..._

Going to get up, he placed his hands on the table, but that turned to a sheet of ice as well. The newly frozen counter shone as lights bounced off of it. A little frightened, the cat stumbled out of his booth and face planted on the dance floor. Going to pick himself up, the entire floor became encased with ice, making people slip and fall all around him.

Groaning and glaring at him, people began to slowly get up and make their way off of the floor. The music stopped and people stared at him. Soon, the bouncers were all around him.

"Listen, kid, you're causing these people a lot of issues with your ice power-thing you have goin' on," A bouncer mumbled. "We have to ask you to leave."

"I can get this under control, Snuffleupagus," Blizzard whispered, patting the bouncer's cheek, which left a few ice patches. "You and The Incredible Bulk here can go back to playing chopsticks."

The other bouncer grabbed the cat's arm firmly. "You have to go."

"Small words for a big guy," The cat said, turning to the other huge man. "If your brains were dynamite, there wouldn't be enough to singe the hair on your balding head."

Shortly later, the cat was forcefully launched out of the front doors of the club, skidding across the pavement. Looking at his hands again, he grew a little worried. That wasn't him in there. He wasn't able to control his powers. His nice evening was brought to a halt by a glitch in his abilities. Not only that, but some of the things he said to the bouncers were...not funny. They were a bit dark, which was unlike him.

"Wow, now that's how I know that this place is good," A female voice said.

The hero looked around until he saw a girl cheetah standing not too far away with earbuds in her ears. Quickly scrambling to his feet, he brushed the dirt and dust off of himself and ran his fingers through his mop head, grinning.

"Hello, pretty lady!" The cold cat cheered, walking over to the cheetah and smiling.

"Hello to you, desperate soul," Came the reply.

"Blizzard the Cat. You?"

"Dash the Cheetah."

"Oh! You're the racer that has my friend in a nervous fit!"

The girl raised an eyebrow. "And that friend's name is...?"

"Sonic the Hedgehog."

Dash nodded and smiled. "Friends with Sonic? He's famous. You must be pretty important."

"Important? I saved his life...once."

"Well, Mr. Cat, I would just love to here about such fables, but I have a club to go to. It seems...you don't," The racer teased, poking him on the nose. "I'll be looking for you on race day. Tell Sonic I said hi."

With that, she walked into the club and disappeared, leaving Blizzard standing in the street with his mouth hanging open. Slowly, he shut his mouth and blinked a few times.

"This may be the only time I want Sonic to lose," The icy hero muttered, walking away and bumping into a light post, not noticing that it had turned to ice.

 **There it is! Sorry that there isn't much new material here, but I had to go back through all three stories and put the parts that pertain to this story in here, and boy were there a lot of pieces!**

 **So Sonic is panicking, Eggman is working on a secret project for some mysterious people, Blizzard's losing control of his powers and has...met a girl? What?**

 **Again, sorry for the lack of new stuff, but the next chapter is gonna lead up to a doozy of a fight scene, so stay tuned!**

 **Remember to leave a review! Follow and favorite and all that good stuff! Check out my past three stories if you want! They'd make everything in this finale so much clearer.**

 **More to come...**


	2. Burn Rubber

**I think this story is doing well for only having one chapter, but I can't seem to view the number of views on any of my stories. It gives me an error message. Can anyone in the reviews let me know if this has happened to you too? It's weird. Can't tell if this story or any other of my stories is doing well or not.**

 **Anyway, enjoy the next chapter (sorry for the short on new content and partially random bits of the last chapter).**

*With Sonic, two days later, three hours before the first Mobian race, in downtown Mobiocity*

"You ready, Sonic?" Tails asked, slapping his best friend on the back.

"I haven't slept in a day and a half, my stomach is eating itself right now and if someone asks me if I'm feeling alright one more time, I'm gonna have a mental breakdown," The Blue Blur fumed, rubbing his eyes.

"You stressed way too much for this," Knuckles stated.

"Sonic!" A feminine voice called out.

Amy Rose pushed her way through the crowd of people and jogged up to the hero, giving him a bone crushing hug. The Fastest Thing Alive desperately tried to take in air while worming his way out of her iron grip, but it was no use. Eventually, Knuckles pulled the pink hedgehog off of Sonic and let the racer try to catch his breath.

"Nice…t…o…see you too…Am…y…" The Blue Blur greeted, wheezing.

"Oh, you're gonna do great today, Sonic! I know it! I feel it in my bones," The cheery hero exclaimed.

"Enough to make my system blow," Blizzard sighed, walking up to the group.

Sonic nodded at his friend. "Welcome to the new age."

"Really, guys? Singing puns at a time like this," Silver cut in, floating over to the group with Blaze at his side.

Shadow joined the group a few minutes later with Rouge behind him. Everyone was at his side, except for Blizzard's small team, which was scattered around either making sure things were safe or buying various trinkets.

"You better win today, Blue Blunder," The Ultimate Life Form hissed. "I have a small bet riding on you."

"Who'd you bet with?" Amy asked.

"Who do you think, darling?" Rouge responded suavely, smirking and leaning forward. "Normally Shadow would hate to root for you in anything, but he wants to win this bet. I just don't understand why he picked you to win. That's a sure loss."

"Good to know I have your unwavering support, Rouge," Sonic sighed, cracking his back.

"I want to win, but I hope you come in second, dear," The jewel thief added.

"Who'd you pick to win?" Blaze questioned.

"Manic," Came the reply.

"Ooo," Blizzard whispered. "Frosty."

"I'm gonna do another warm up. I'll catch up with you guys, alright?" Sonic finally said, and then jogged off.

* * *

*With Silver, ten minutes later*

After the group had agreed to meet up by the finish line towards the start of the race, they all went their separate directions. Silver made sure that Blaze hadn't followed him as he made his way up to a rooftop and slouched down by one of the ledges. He had noticed things changing in his team that others hadn't seemed to pick up on yet.

For instance, Sonic and Amy were becoming a little chummier ever since Eggman had tried to attack them in the park a while ago. Tails had retreated back into his work of science and such while Knuckles and Shock Charge had been sparring a little more than usual in order to work on their strength and stamina. Rouge, Shadow and Blaze hadn't changed all that much, and Silver didn't notice anything abnormal about Jess or Mute, but he had stumbled upon some troubling events with Blizzard before.

Silver could tell when someone was losing control of their abilities. He had a faze like that once, but never this bad. The cat had frozen the entire TV when he got angry at a video game. When he dove into the outdoor pool in the backyard of the HQ, he froze the entire pool solid. Even more disturbing, Silver had gone to get late night snacks before, and in order to get to the fridge, he had to pass the freezer, where Blizzard slept. More than occasionally, the telekinetic would hear the feline muttering to himself in his sleep from inside the ice box, saying things like "you're not real," "get out of my head," and the word "anti" over and over again. He saw the joker try to hide what was going on through puns and wry smiles, but when it came to other people's grief, Silver could sometimes read them like a book. This was one of those times.

However, if Blizzard didn't want to talk about it, then Silver wouldn't press him. After all, the hero was going to make some of his own changes. The grey hedgehog pulled out a small, purple, velvet box and opened the lid, revealing a solid gold ring with a purple diamond in it, with small wisps around the rest of it. He was planning on asking Blaze to marry him at the dinner tonight after the race. It had been about four years since he had first asked her out, and it was obvious to him that there was no one better fit for him than his old friend, who stuck by him through thick and thin and even sacrificed herself for the greater good. It didn't seem ironic to him that all of those traits make a good friend and a good life partner. The only difference between the two was romantic attraction.

"Oh, I've never been this nervous before. Why can't proposing be like fighting bad guys? That'd be so much easier," The hero muttered.

"Oh ho ho!" A chuckle came from behind the hedgehog.

Silver whirled around to see Blizzard, hovering behind him. Mentally kicking himself for not picking up on his surroundings better, the telekinetic watched as the cat floated over to the roof and land, folding his arms and smiling like an idiot.

"Tying the knot with Blaze, are we?" The feline asked.

"If you say anything, I swear I'll—"

"Relax, man! Sometimes you put the psycho in psychokinetic, ya know that?" The icy hero sighed. "Gratz, bro. Happy for you."

"You're fine with this?"

The cat shifted uncomfortably. "Yeah? Why wouldn't I be?"

Silver scratched the back of his head. "It seemed like you had a crush on her a little while back."

"Yeah…well…maybe…but that's because I like a challenge. Usually girls just fall to my whim."

"What about Freeze?"

Silver knew he had made a mistake saying that as soon as the words left his mouth. Once he finished his sentence, the cat's eyes flashed briefly and his eye color became a sharp, cold blue. The ground beneath him became slick with ice a little, but the cat blinked a few times and smirked.

"Yeah. She was, uh…Yeah. Kinda like Freeze," Blizzard said hoarsely.

It had been many years since Silver, Sonic and the others traveled to the Frostbite Dimension, Blizzard's home, in order to save the frozen feline as well as Blaze from destruction. Along the way, the icy hero's childhood friend and crush, Freeze the Arctic Fox, became their ally. Blizzard believed that it was because he'd convinced her to join their cause, even though Silver and a few other heroes knew this wasn't the case. No matter how hard they tried to make Blizzard believe this, he wouldn't have it. Anyway, during a fight with the army of the dimension, Freeze was shot multiple times and died in the hands of Blaze. The fox asked the pyrokinetic to watch over her friend in a guardian sort of way, and Blaze has kept to that promise since. Still, the cryokinetic blames himself for her death, and it's a very touchy subject for him.

"I'm sure she'll say yes," The cat continued. "Remember, she liked you before you knew she did."

Silver nodded and decided to change the topic. "So how about Shadow picking Sonic to win the race?"

"Could be a case of Sonadow going on."

"What?"

"Oh. Guess we go to different websites."

The telekinetic shook his head and stood up. "If, uh, Blaze does say yes…"

"WHEN she says yes?"

"Right…heh…Um, I was wondering if you would make some ice sculptures for the wedding. I know you're good at that stuff."

Blizzard raised an eyebrow. "Good at that stuff? Dude, that's all I'm capable of doing! You can't expect a guy who controls ice and snow to grow a beautiful garden all around you."

"So is that a yes?"

The cat smirked and tapped his chin. "I'll think about it. Meantime, let's go back down there. I've got a lady friend I want you to meet."

Silver rolled his eyes and floated down to the streets below with Blizzard.

* * *

*With Sonic, two hours later*

With less than an hour before the race started, the Blue Blur decided to go around and meet the racers. He decided to start with his siblings.

"Sonia! Manic!" He called, walking up to the two hedgehogs.

"How's it going, brotha?" Manic cackled, grabbing onto the Blue Blur and giving him a rub on the head. "Ready to get stomped on today?"

"I could ask the same thing to you, little bro," Sonia said, turning to the green hedgehog.

"Don't let all that confidence go to your head, Sis!" The blue hero said. "I'm gonna make sure you guys get left in the dust. I've been training hard all week long."

"Manic's training has been eating tacos and watching reruns of Desperate Housewives," Sonia butted in. "Out of the two of us, I'm the only one that's done any sort of training. Reminds me, Mom and Dad want you to come visit."

"They're not here?" Sonic asked, a little hurt.

The purple hedgehog shook her head. "Couldn't make it. They send their regards."

"They want me to visit them, but they can't visit me. Typical," The Fastest Thing Alive muttered, shaking his head. "I gotta visit some of the other racers. I'll catch you guys at the starting line."

"Or maybe we'll catch you," Manic stated.

"Doubt it!" The hero said over his shoulder as he jogged off.

* * *

*With Silver*

Moving some of the crowd out of his way with his mind, the hedgehog followed his feline friend towards a group of three, which was composed of a cheetah, a wolf and a salty looking raccoon.

"Dash, is it?" Blizzard asked, walking up to the cheetah. "Did I get it right?"

The girl pulled out an earbud and raised an eyebrow. "Hey…Who're you again?"

Silver looked at his icy friend slightly and saw his expression fall and his ears flatten on his head. It was obvious that the girl didn't remember Blizzard and meant next to nothing to her, but she meant something to him.

"Blizzard…t-the Cat? Remember? The Firefly a few nights ago? I got tossed out? I came to watch you and Sonic race!" The hero continued.

Dash put her earbud back in and nodded. "Oh yeah. Hey, nice to see you here."

The telekinetic looked at the wolf, who had his hands jammed in his pockets and wore a disgusted face, which was directed at the cat. The raccoon was picking her teeth with a throwing knife and had a disinterested look.

"Yeah…Nice to see you as well…" The cryokinetic responded. "Come on, Silver. Time to go. Shoulda stayed in bed today."

Silver turned and followed his friend back into the crowd, but not before hearing the wolf say something to his cheetah friend.

"Uh, Dash?" The voice said with a hint of annoyance. "Who was that and when did you meet him?"

"Some guy I ran into the other night. It's nothing, Giz. Calm yourself," The racer replied.

 _Man. That's harsh. Poor Blizzard._

* * *

*With Sonic, five minutes earlier*

"I'll see you out there, alright?" The blue hero chuckled before turning around and bumping into someone. "Oop! Sorry! Didn't see youuuu…Sally?"

The queen stepped back and smiled, blinking a few times. A few body guards were around her and she wore a white tank top with a blue scarf draped over her shoulders. Her crown was placed neatly in her hair, which was pulled back by a blue band. She had grey cargo pants on and her signature blue boots.

"Came to watch my favorite hedgehog race today," Sally stated, placing her left hand on her hip. "Manic, that is."

Sonic pointed a finger at her. "That's harsh. You came all the way over to Mobiocity for the race?"

"It's the first ever race of this kind! Of course I'm gonna be here! Plus, they have roasted assorted nuts, and I'm a sucker for those."

The Fastest Thing Alive thought of making a harsh joke, but decided against it. Inviting her over to meet some of his newer friends, the two, plus the guards, made their way through the crowd and to Sonic's team. Those whom she knew, being Tails, Amy, Knuckles, Shadow, Silver, Blaze and Rouge, greeted her warmly, except Shadow. She then turned to an orange and black echidna two grey hedgehogs—one male and one female—and a blue, grey and white cat.

"Mute. Nice to meet you, You're Majesty," The male hedgehog stated, holding out his hand for a handshake.

Sally shook it. "Please, leave the formalities to the people back in my home. Here, I'm just Sally."

"Jessica Thorne. Pleasure," The girl said next, shaking hands as well.

"You look kinda like Amy," The chipmunk mumbled, looking the girl up and down.

Jess smirked. "So I've been told."

She reached out for the echidna's hand next, but when she neared him, her hair began to stand on end and a spark shocked her arm, making her yelp.

"Shock Charge, an, uh…Sorry about that. Can't control it. I'm not much for…physical contact," The guy explained.

The queen turned to the cat. "And you are…?"

The hero looked at her with an unamused expression and made no move to shake her hand. "Blizzard."

"Guessing that name has something to do with cold things, and I'm not talking about just your attitude," Sally mumbled, catching Silver out of her eye, who was making cut-throat motions with his hand. "But everyone has bad days."

"Got that right," The cat replied, looking at her with a tired expression. "Aren't you a little squirrelly to be a queen?"

At that statement, Sonic, Knuckles and Blaze face palmed.

"Jokes are his thing," Mute cut in. "We've had to deal with them since we met him."

"Enjoy them, you mean," The cold feline corrected, holding up a finger.

"LADIES AND GENTLEMAN, WILL ALL RACERS REPORT TO THE STARTING LINE! THE RACE IS ABOUT TO BEGIN!" An announcer bellowed over the loudspeakers.

"Oh, I'm gonna hurl!" Sonic whined, bending over.

"Get up, ya weenie!" Silver sighed, straightening the Blue Blur back up and patting his back. "Come on, let's go get you set up."

* * *

*With Gizmo, one minute earlier*

"LADIES AND GENTLEMAN, WILL ALL RACERS REPORT TO THE STARTING LINE! THE RACE IS ABOUT TO BEGIN!" A booming voice echoed throughout the area.

"Looks like that's you, Dash. Go get 'em! Bandit and I'll be right here rooting for you!" The inventor exclaimed, removing his high-tech glasses and smiling.

A low "hmph" came from the raccoon.

"Well, maybe just me," The wolf corrected.

Dash nodded and gave Gizmo a hug before jogging into the crowd towards the starting line. A warm and fuzzy feeling rose within the hound as he looked at her go with a dazed expression. His trance was broken when Bandit made gagging sounds.

"If we weren't in a public place, I'd SO—"

"What?" The ex-thief cut in, smirking and tracing an imaginary line down the inventor's cheek with one of her blades. "Hurt a team member? All it takes is one of my shiny, sharp beauties in your techy-things, and you're powerless. If you take away your gear, you have no abilities, no fighting skills, and are easy prey."

The girl smirked.

"Easy prey for anyone."

Gizmo pushed the knife away from his face and looked around at the crowd. "Can't believe I'm stuck here with you, dudette."

"Tut tut, wolfy. There're others who are far worse than me," She continued.

"Yeah. I don't wanna meet any extended family."

"Cute."

"Are we naming traits that you lack now?" Gizmo fumed, turning to face the raccoon. "Kind? Generous? Caring? Smart? Punctual? Cool? Heroic?"

"Like you've been any of those things? You've been spiteful towards me and are genuinely selfish when it comes to your inventions and creations, you only care for Dash, cool is determined by those around you, and you have done nothing heroic except bring me in for trial," The girl hissed. "The only thing you have is brains."

"Which is still more than you have, brah," Gizmo stated, obviously miffed.

The two stood in silence for a while, looking around and waiting for the race to start. It wasn't until a stern "ahem" caught Gizmo's attention. The wolf turned to see a familiar female cat standing to the right of him. She wore a red and white dress with a red head band holding her hair back.

"Honey?" Gizmo questioned, contorting his face.

"Hi, uh, Gizmo, is it?" She said. "It's been a while."

"Yeah, man. It's been, like, two years 'a while.'" The inventor replied. "What're you doing here?"

"This race is gonna make Mobian history. You think I'd miss this?" She laughed. "You wanna…get something to eat? Maybe catch up?"

"I do have questions, yeah," He answered. "Pizza?"

"Only if it has anchovies."

"Half 'n' half it is!"

* * *

*With Sonic, real time*

The Blue Blur made his way to the starting line and sucked in some deep breaths, scuffing his shoes on the blacktop. After checking in, he was given a sticker, of which he put on his chest, and made his way to the starting line, where the crowds were cheering and on their feet. Looking to his left, he saw an unamused raccoon in a large group of humans, staring at the ground. To his left, the hero saw all of his friends, including Blizzard, Mute, Sally, Jess, and Shock Charge, whom Sonic didn't know all that well, but still got along with. Amy blew a kiss at the Blue Blur, and in turn Sonic smiled and nodded.

"Oh boy. Go time. Let's go," The Fastest Thing Alive whispered.

Next to him, a female cheetah walked up with earbuds in her ears, bopping and moving to whatever she was listening to. Manic and Sonia were a little ways down, preparing for the race as well.

The entire course was over 200 miles in length. Some parts went through the city, others went through the forest and at one point, the trail went through some mountains, providing an extra challenge with cliffs and sharp turns. Safety measures were always in place of course. During any road hazard in the mountains or anywhere, if a racer was in distress or fell off a ledge, the team would be there to help them, but they'd be officially out of the race. Pushing and shoving was allowed, so Sonic would have to watch himself and those around him during those parts of the course so he wouldn't be shoved off the ledge and out of the race.

The cheetah next to the blue hedgehog took out her earbuds and put them in her pocket, then looked around nervously and cautiously.

"Good luck out there!" Sonic exclaimed to the girl.

She looked over at him, gave a weak smile and a slight nod, then went back to shuffling around.

"RACERS! STAND IN YOUR AREA!"

All of the runners got to the front of the starting line and took position. The crowd fell silent.

"ON YOUR MARK!"

A few shuffling noises were heard as some racers got ready.

"SET!"

Everything and everyone was silent.

Then, a loud bang sounded, and the runners were off.

 **There it is! A nice and large chapter filled with things leading up to the big fight and race scene, which is in the next chapter. Hope you enjoyed it!**

 **Please leave a review of what you thought and also if you've had any issues experiencing the view count!**

 **More to come…**


	3. Adrenaline Rush

**Alright! Welcome to the third chapter of the finale! Sorry it took a little while!**

 **So, I was thinking that if this finale (all three parts) hits a total of 15,000 views, 25 favorites, 15 follows and a grand total of 120 reviews or over, I'd do something special to celebrate. My two ideas are an "ask the characters" bonus few chapters where you guys can ask questions in the reviews to any character in the Sonic series I made (Real or OC. Dead or still living), and they'd answer. Laughs, embarrassment, a dash of romance and more importantly, questions that you may have will be answered! The other one that I'm thinking of doing is a simple face reveal on my profile page (It's always been the guy in the suit. Thought it looked cool. The picture of me would be up for 1 week only before it would get switched back to the suit guy). I know, it may not be as a unique idea as the Q &A, but it's what you guys want. Other options could be a sneak peek at what's next for the characters? A short, follow-up series maybe? Who knows? What I DO know is that there's a poll up on my profile RIGHT NOW for you to choose between 4 options, being the Q&A, the face reveal, the sneak peek to what's next, or other (if you choose other, please let me know what idea you have in the reviews, or else I obviously won't know what your idea is. If I like it a lot, then I'll use it along with the second most popular pick). SO GO VOTE NOW!**

…

…

 **You're still here? I guess you want to read the chapter and then maybe vote, hm? That must be it…right? I hope so! I want to do something special to celebrate how far we've come in this series! Anyway, here's the chapter!**

Sonic shot out in front of the rest of the pack at the sound of the starting gun, leaving the large crowd in the dust along with a few amateur racers. To his surprise, though, most of the runners were either right next to him or a few steps behind him. His sister, Sonia, was right up front with him, but a little ways down. Manic was a few steps behind, grinning in confidence. The cheetah next to him was doing well, keeping with his pace, and like him, it didn't seem like she was using much of her speed either.

The first obstacle in the race was the mud trek, where racers would have to run through a mile of pure, gooey mud. To make it challenging, sprinklers were constantly spraying water into the large trench, making it easy to slip. Most would be hung up on this challenge for a little bit, but Sonic knew how to maneuver through this with ease.

As the runners rapidly approached the mud mile, the Blue Blur prepared himself for his first trick.

"Slip 'n' slide!" He cheered, diving head first into the mud and sliding across the terrain with ease, taking a second to pull himself out begin running again.

"NO FAIR!" Manic yelled from behind him.

To the hedgehog's surprise, the cheetah glided across the mud on her shoes, using the water like an ice rink and hopping out of the pit, missing Sonia's head by a few inches. Once she hit the ground, she took off again, catching up to Sonic and keeping with his pace.

The hedgehog narrowed his eyes and attempted to cut in front of her, but she moved to his opposite side and shoved him. The hero stumbled a little before regaining his balance and catching the girl, trying to cut her off again. Hearing a frustrated grunt from his rival, the Fastest Thing Alive sped up a little, but was swiftly shoved to his left, making him almost lose his balance.

"Normally…I wouldn't condone… foul play or cheating…but it's allowed and…you're getting on my nerves!" The girl stated between breaths.

"Whatever I gotta do to win! I'm not losing this thing!" Sonic responded, picking up speed.

The next challenge would be approaching in several miles. This would be the canyons, where sharp turns and ledges were common and the safety team had to be in every nook and cranny in order to prevent any serious injuries. One false move, and any runner could be out of the race.

The hedgehog looked to the sky, where a blimp displayed a screen with the placements, to see that he was tied for first with this girl, Dash the Cheetah…

 _Of course. The one racer that I'm not related to that I was concerned about is tied for first with me._

…with Sonia in fifth and Manic in seventh.

Soon, the hero and the cheetah entered the mountains and raced around a sharp bend, careful as to not slide off and be disqualified, something that the fourth and eighth place runners couldn't do. Sonia moved up to fourth while Manic moved up to sixth, but was gaining rapidly on his sister.

The Blue Blur rounded another ledge and made his way to a higher part of the mountains, continuing to keep the lead with Dash right on his heels. Below, Sonic spotted Manic catch his sister and push her over the edge, where she fell into a giant inflatable cushion below.

"SORRY, SIS!" The green hedgehog shouted.

"I'M SMASHING YOUR TV, YOU RUNT!" Sonia spat, pounding her fist into the cushion.

Manic now had fourth, and was gaining on third place.

The blue hero made his way around another curve and bumped into Dash, who gritted her teeth and shoved back more forcefully. Sonic sped ahead and made a sharp cut to the right, running right in front of the girl and tripping her up. Leaping off the edge, Sonic landed on a nearby mountainside and slid down to another part of the track, quickly making his way out of the mountains.

Laughing as he sped away, leaving the others in the dust, he realized he was coming to the underwater part of the race, where he had to enter a tube that led into the ocean. It wasn't much of a challenge, if you didn't count the random speed pads that would make you run into the tube and knock you down, and the hero seemed up to the task. Entering the plastic tube, the Fastest Thing Alive sped through the course, jumping and dodging all of the speed pads and making it out safely on the other side, having only been shaken up by seeing a killer whale in the ocean, which was placed by the zoo for the torment of the blue hedgehog.

Sonic made his way through a field, taking in the scene around him. This brought a smile to his face as the sun shone down on him and the wind whipped across his face, making his quills flow in the breeze. Nothing could disrupt this moment…

…except for The Gauntlet.

The Gauntlet was a series of traps, obstacles, water hazards, and pits set up as the last challenge in the race before the racers would run through Mobiocity and cross the finish line, which would be in the same spot as the starting line.

Sonic picked up his speed a little preparing for the last push through the final challenge. As he neared, a beam with a red cushion around it swung out in front of him, forcing the hedgehog to duck under it. Immediately after that, a pit opened up in the ground in front of him, making the hero leap over it and slide underneath another beam and into some muddy water. A swift breeze caught his attention, and when the Blue Blur looked up, Dash, who he'd left behind in the mountains, leaped off of one of the beams and hurtled through the air, pushing and shoving with Manic, who was right behind her.

Seeing no other racers, Sonic figured that the others must have either gotten trapped in the mountains or knocked out by the speed pads in the oceanic part. He was now in third, right behind his rival for the whole race and his cocky little brother. Leaping out of the water pit, Sonic turned up his speed into his overdrive mode, barreling through the remaining obstacles and leaving nothing but wreckage behind. Catching Manic, the blue hedgehog cut him off and pushed him aside, gaining on Dash, who was currently in first.

The sound of crashing and clunking echoed from a street to his right, and when Sonic turned to see the origin of the noise, he found a red truck hurtling down the street. Diving underneath it, the hero cleared the car while catching up to the cheetah, who had jumped over the automobile. The two wound the corner, shielding their eyes as glass exploded out of buildings all around them.

"DON'T REMEMBER THEM SAYING THIS BEING PART OF THE RACE!" The Blue Blur shouted.

"EXTRA CHALLENGE?" Dash yelled, ducking under a fallen lamp post that was being held up by another car.

An eardrum-bursting groan came from their left, and the two runners looked to see a large building falling down towards them, crushing smaller structures beneath it. The large skyscraper crashed down upon the streets of Mobius, sending a large cloud of dust in every direction.

Sonic and Dash sped their way through some broken glass, dodging cubicles, chairs, computers and other debris in the building. The blue hero dropped down a hole in the floor and jumped out of a broken window, landing on a piece of concrete that was in midair and dropping back down to the streets below. Dash eventually appeared beside him, caked in dust and plaster, like him. Approaching a giant piece of rubble, Sonic slid underneath a gap while the cheetah ran right over it and jumped into the air, landing beside him once more.

Making a right, the two leaped over a collapsed railway and wall-ran across the sides of two buildings, careful as to avoid the mile-long sinkhole that was in the street, which lead to an unknown, shadowy fate.

"WE SHOULD BE APPROACHING THE FINISH LINE!" Sonic shouted.

"IF THERE IS ONE!" The girl called back.

After a few more minutes of dodging cars and smaller fallen buildings, the two made it back to the starting line, crossing it. Technically, Sonic won be two steps, but nobody was keeping track.

Firetrucks, police cars and army vehicles were scattered around the area. Civilian cars were flattened and strung about like party decorations. The smell of must and plaster filled the air while sounds of a crying kid echoed throughout the area. Sonic looked over to see Silver, who had his head buried in his arms against a building. Shadow was looking down at the ground while Tails was helping Amy around. She was walking with a limp. Rouge and Sally were talking with an army soldier while Knuckles and Shock Charge were moving debris, probably looking for people. Jess was talking rapidly into an army phone and was getting red with anger. Mute was slumped against a building with his arm around Blizzard, who looked raggedy and torn up. The frosty feline had his arm around the sniper as well, panting heavily and wiping his mouth on his arm.

Sonic saw Dash run over to a wolf and raccoon, who looked pretty banged up as well. The wolf immediately gave the racer a hug before pulling her aside to talk to her. The raccoon was busy wrapping a bandage around a yellowish cat's leg.

In a trance, the Blue Blur slowly walked over to Shadow and nudged him. "Shadow…what happened here?"

The Ultimate Life Form didn't answer and pointed over to Blizzard and Mute. The Fastest Thing Alive made his way over to the two and knelt down before them.

"Man, you guys look beat up," Sonic stated.

Blizzard slowly opened his eyes and smiled weakly. "And you look like…you…you…could, uh…go to the prom…Posh Spice."

"Are you alright?" The blue hero asked.

"Pshh. Nine lives, baby!" The cat said weakly, gingerly raising his fist in the air.

"What happened?"

Mute patted his cat friend's shoulder and looked at the hero with a tired expression. "We were ambushed. This guy…telekinetic…He took Blaze."

 **BWAAAAAAA!**

 **What happened while Sonic was away? We'll find out in the next chapter!**

 **Please leave a review with your thoughts!**

 **More to come…**

 **AND REMEMBER TO VOTE!**


	4. Not As I Seem

**Hmm. It seems as though I didn't make the poll in the last chapter. It also seems as though I've lost quite a few readers. Weird. I guess since school had started back up, people are busy, so I get that. I'm busy too. Ah well, watcha gonna do?**

 **Explanation time for the previous chapter!**

*With Silver, forty-eight minutes earlier*

The hero watched as his blue friend sped off along with the rest of the racers, pulling a massive amount of wind along with him. People lost their balance and tumbled head over heels as the large gust of air swept them off their feet. Silver, however, was able to use his mind to keep the wind away from him, so this was not an issue that some of his other friends faced.

"WHEEEE!" Blizzard cheered as he soared through the air, careless as to where the burst of wind took him.

"Three, two, one…" Shadow sighed.

A loud bang sounded as the frosty cat crashed into the brick wall of a pizza restaurant. Groaning, the hero slowly detached himself and flopped to the ground, getting an odd look from a yellow cat and brown wolf as the exited the place.

"Idiot," The Ultimate Life Form grumbled.

Jess shook her head as she went over to help the cat up. "I'll get a medic."

"I believe the correct term is 'doctor,'" Tails stated as he followed behind her with Cream, who had found them a few minutes earlier, right by his side.

The telekinetic shook his head and smirked, looking around at the scene before him. People were mingling and chatting, eating various fatty foods or watching the runners on multiple big screen TVs around the area. Today was a beautiful day for the race.

"You seem happy," Blaze said, walking over to him and yanking his leg lightly, lowering him to the ground. "Having fun?"

"As long as, uh, I'm with you…everything's a blast," The hero sputtered, rubbing the back of his head.

Even though they'd been dating for a while now, Silver still got nervous whenever he was around Blaze. She was something special. He'd never met a girl like her before. She was caring, yet serious. Determined, yet willing to help a friend in need. Something about her made him just…tense…but in a good way.

"Oh, I'm sure," The pyrokinetic chuckled with a smirk, giving the hedgehog a doubtful look.

The hedgehog looked over at Blizzard, who was being slapped back into sanity by Mute and Jessica.

"I'm Shadow the Robot, and I—!"

Slap!

"¿Dónde está los perros de maíz?"

Slap!

"My fellow Americans, I am not a criminal!"

Slap!

"How can our eyes by real if life isn't real?"

Slap!

"Now watch me whi—"

After another smack across the face, the cat returned to his normal self, dazed and confused.

"Sometimes I wonder…" Silver muttered. "What if things had been different? What if Blizzard had chosen to kill you all those years ago? What would've happened? I mean, from what it sounds like, his life was ruined just to save yours."

His girlfriend nodded. "I ponder these things too at times. I'm grateful for his help and for sparing my life, although I'd scorch his furry butt before he would even lay a finger on me, but I do wonder if things could have turned out differently. His home is destroyed, and now he's the last of the cryokinetics, just like I'm the last of the pyrokinetics."

The telekinetic smiled. "Found something you two have in common."

"One of the extremely few things," Blaze corrected, holding up her pointer finger.

For a brief moment, the hedgehog thought about telling Blaze about their icy friend's power issues or the fact that he mumbled "anti" in his sleep, but decided against it. If Blizzard wanted to tell them, he would.

* * *

*With Gizmo and Honey, a few minutes earlier*

After being startled by a flying cat, the two gave the dazed feline a strange look as they walked out of the pizza parlor before walking back over where Bandit was waiting.

"Hey, sorry I abandoned you like that back during the whole Darkspine thing," The cat sighed. "I…I just had to go somewhere where I could be alone. I can't believe it's been a little over two years since Mighty's death."

"Don't sweat it, dudette. Everyone's deals with stuff their own way. I understand. The only issue I had after you were gone was having Bandit join my team," Gizmo replied.

The raccoon glared at the inventor, but said nothing.

"Oh yeah, I remember when I first met you! I almost shot you by accident. You used her to check if the coast was clear," The yellow cat laughed.

Bandit rolled her eyes and gritted her teeth. "I'm not listening to this dribble."

As the ex-thief walked away, the two pulled up some chairs and sat down, catching up on who had been doing what. While Honey had been traveling all over Mobius, fighting some baddies and visiting different areas, Gizmo was a little disheartened when he shared that he'd been stuck in his secluded, small city where not much went on. He was ashamed to admit that the big race today was the only way they could get permission to leave.

"I haven't really done any heroic things, you could say. Truth is, dudette, it's mainly escort missions for some officials and the occasional invention here and there. Nothing major or anything, even," The inventor sighed. "You seemed to have done a stockpile of cool things."

"Not gonna lie, that's true," Honey laughed. "Don't worry Gizmo. I'm sure you'll go on some adventures. Being a hero isn't what it's cut out to be, though. Remember that. Being one makes you, your family and friends the target of every villain."

* * *

*With Shadow, real time*

"Come on, Manic! Mama needs some new diamonds!" Rouge urged, looking at the giant TV screen that said Manic was seventh.

"Hm. Rouge? Who's in first?" The dark hero asked.

"Shut it, Shadow! There's still plenty of time for Sonic to choke!"

The hedgehog rolled his eyes. "As much as I hate to say it, doubtful."

Everything was going smoothly so far, but wind started to pick up as the race went on, starting slow but becoming more aggressive faster. It wasn't until a loud BAM sounded in the sky followed by frantic screams of pedestrians did Shadow decide that something was amiss.

He and the bat looked upward to see a small, purple portal open up in a large white cloud, growing bigger and bigger until it was almost the size of a football field. A single, black hedgehog floated down from it and looked around with a serious expression.

"WHO THE HECK IS THAT?" Tails shouted over the terrified civilians.

"DON'T KNOW! I'M GONNA GO TALK TO HIM AND SEE WHAT HE WANTS!" Silver replied, slowly floating into the air.

Shadow and the others were no longer paying any attention to the race. They were transfixed on the grey hedgehog as he flew over to the mysterious hedgehog and watched as the telekinetic said a few words. The newcomer's expression didn't change at all, remaining stone cold throughout Silver's speech. The hero was suddenly cut off when the black hedgehog quickly grabbed him by the throat and examined him thoroughly.

"HE'S GOT SILVER!" Blaze shouted.

"HEY!" Mute called, getting the hedgehog's attention. "LET HIM GO, OR WE WILL WE USE FORCE!"

Their foe smirked, changing his expression for the first time, and waved his free hand in front of him. "IF SUCH AN ACTION IS WHAT YOU DESIRE, THEN SO BE IT!"

The black hedgehog whirled around and flung Silver through the air, sending the hero crashing into the glass of a tall building. Shadow and Rouge took cover behind a car, drawing their G.U.N. pistols and peering around the edges. Their assailant thrust his hands outward, shattering the glass on all of the surrounding structures and raining the shards down on the heroes.

Tails and Amy dove behind a hot dog stand while Knuckles slid behind some concrete blocks that used to hold a window frame. Blaze flung fireballs at the hedgehog as she made her way behind a TV screen that had fallen when the glass shattered. Shadow diverted his vision to his left, where Blizzard was creating a shield of ice to protect him, Mute, Jess and Shock Charge from the powerful bursts of mental force that their attacker was using. Mute and Jess were firing their guns from either side of the cat while the electric hedgehog commanded thunderclouds into their area and attempted to hit the newcomer with lightning, which was deflected with ease. In front of him, a familiar wolf slid behind a car, pressing some buttons on a pad on his wrists, which were quickly encased in a cannon. A yellow cat was by his side, shielding herself from the debris that was flying around. A raccoon was above the two, running and climbing across different buildings, making its way higher and higher to where the portal and their foe were.

"I SEEK BLAZE THE CAT!" The villain boomed.

"SO DOES SILVER, BUT HE HAD DIBS FIRST!" Blizzard called, then turned and looked at Blaze. "Could you try to be a little less popular?"

"You think I know him?" The pyrokinetic spat.

Above the Ultimate Life Form, Silver wobbled to the edge of the building. "I'M ALRIGHT!"

He was quickly launched back into the structure by their assailant by another powerful blast of energy.

Shadow turned to the ex-thief. "I've got an idea. You stay here."

"You really think I'm gonna do that?" Rouge asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Worth a shot," The hero grunted, using his shoes to rocket out from behind the car and up the side of a nearby building.

Dodging flying pieces of debris that were thrown by the newcomer, the hedgehog flew past the raccoon, who was climbing the same building as well, and landed on a roof. Shadow continued to do this with a few other buildings until he was close to the height where the hedgehog floated. The hero ran towards the edge and jumped off, flying through the air. He was almost within reach of grabbing the villain to pull him down to the ground when he suddenly stopped in midair.

The black hedgehog turned and looked at him, boring his sharp green eyes into the hero. "A valiant effort, but futile nonetheless."

"Who are you?" The Ultimate Life Form seethed.

The villain lowered his eyebrows. "My title is none of your concern. Where is Blaze the Cat?"

While he was interrogating Shadow, the attacker was using both of his hands to block the bullets, cannon fire, fireballs, ice blasts and lightning bolts that were being thrown at him by Shadow's allies.

"Bite me," The dark hero spat.

The villain frowned before reaching his hand out towards the hedgehog, taking control of him and flinging him downward, slamming him into some rubble.

* * *

*With the newcomer*

 _Insolent fools. Do they fail to grasp the situation? Until they present me with Blaze the Cat, I cannot return to my king—my friend. I must retrieve her, so says my mission._

The villain roared in rage and thrust his hands out, feeling the ground with his mind. The hedgehog took some deep breaths and imagined it collapsing beneath the heroes, and soon, that vision became a reality. Soon, the roads beneath his enemies started to give way, making them scatter in different directions. He decided to pick some off. Thrusting his hand out again, he mentally grabbed ahold of an orange and black echidna, the one who controlled lightening, and launched him into a water tower, where shocks and sparks of electricity crackled and popped in the water. When the hero slid out, he rolled off the small building and flopped on the ground. Stopping some bullets in the air, which were fired by two grey hedgehogs, the telekinetic sent the barrage of metal hurtling towards a fox and pink hedgehog. The boy was able to duck behind a car, but the girl was hit in the leg by one of the bullets, sending her falling to the ground.

Suddenly, something caught his eye. A blue and white cat was attempting to nail him with blasts of ice, but failing. The hedgehog remembered this cat from long ago.

 _Blizzard the Cat? My eyes cannot deceive me._

The attacker picked Blizzard up with his mind, having him immobilized and brought him close to where he was, encasing the two in a mental shield that prevented any assault on him.

"I don't know who you are or why you want Blaze, but…Hey, has anyone ever told you that you look like Silver?" The cat stated.

It was true, aside from the black fur, boots and gloves, green and gold cuffs that were strapped to his wrists and ankles and piercing green eyes, he looked exactly like Silver.

"Your memory indeed is damaged. I am Catharsis. I am the Anti-Silver from Moebius. Do you fail to recall such details?"

"Dude, you talk like Shakespeare."

"Why do you side with these weak fools? Comrade, don't you remember who you are? What destiny you possess?"

Catharsis looked straight into the cat's eyes and understood immediately.

"You do understand. You are plagued by visions and nightmares. They tell you to commit deeds that you do not want to do, but I fail to see why. Maybe…"

The Anti-Silver held out his hand and slowly reached for the icy cat's forehead to touch it.

"Whoah, man! No touchy! I have a thing about touching my head, and you are no except—"

The cat was cut off when Catharsis touched his head, suddenly going limp. Now, the hedgehog could see inside the cat's mind and dreams. A white fox, lava, regret, and a looming fog all around him. No trace of his old life was in his memories. The cat's life in the Frostbite Dimension, how he met Sonic and the others, fighting off rebels…Everything was revealed to Catharsis in a matter of seconds. Removing his hand, Blizzard regained consciousness and kept talking like nothing happened.

"—ion, sir. Yeah, that's right! Don't touch me. No touchy!" The hero finished.

The telekinetic sighed. "You truly have lost sight of who you are. No matter. I will personally restore you to your former glory."

Gritting his teeth, the villain flung Blizzard into a lower floor of the same building Silver had crashed into. Wrapping his mind around the base of the structure, Catharsis crushed the stone support beams and tipped the building over, sending it falling backwards. He saw his arch-enemy, Silver, leap out from the top floor just in time along with Blizzard.

 _Friend, I will force you to remember._

"I AM FINISHED WITH YOUR MINDLESS GAMES! WHERE IS BLAZE THE CAT?" He shouted, looking around.

"You want me?" A voice called out.

The hedgehog scanned the area until he saw his target: a purple cat with fiery hands and eyes, gritting her teeth. This was his target? He expected something more…or maybe less. He had heard so much about her, but he didn't expect her to look the way she did. Considering some of the…others he'd met…she was certainly different, but the red mark on her forehead made it clear that this was his target.

"Come and get me!" She seethed.

"EASIER COMPLETED, THAN STATED!" Catharsis boomed, using his mind to wrap restrain her, extinguish her flames and draw her near him.

The Anti-Silver summoned all of his energy and sucker punched her in the face, causing the cat to black out. Looking down at the heroes below, he sent one last burst on energy down on them, knocking them in every direction. After batting away a raccoon who'd tried to perform a sneak attack on him, Catharsis grabbed Blaze and rose into the portal, which sealed behind him.

Coming out the other side, he was greeted by beings with balls of fire for heads and plates of metal for bodies. They bore different weapons. Some were swords, others were bows and arrows, and others were spears. These were called Pyromaniacs, he had learned.

"She's unconscious," A voice stated.

The telekinetic turned to see a male cat in full combat gear and a revolver, who emerged from the pack of fiery beings.

"I specifically ordered her to be brought back ALIVE!" The feline shouted, clenching his fists. "My father will not be pleased, and when he's not happy, I'm not happy. Do you know how bad this makes me look? How can I ever become king of this place if I can't get some simpleton to do the simplest thing?"

The Anti-Silver scowled. "I am no peasant, Prince Ash. I completed what was asked of me. I brought her to you, relatively unharmed. You should be pleased. Anyone else would have failed such a task."

Ash swiftly punched the hedgehog in the stomach, causing him to drop Blaze.

"I am royalty, or have you forgotten? Your king works for us for now, and that means that YOU. ARE. MINE!" The cat fumed. "Worthless! YOU MEAN NOTHING!"

"My destiny is of great importance. It means something. Whatever it is, I shall follow it to the letter. That is my importance."

"Utter gibberish! Can't you speak normally? Fate? HA! You're fate is at my service. If I want you to create a statue of me out of rocks, then you best do it! Your destiny is nothing! A joke!" The cat ranted. "If you screw up again, then I shall personally execute you like I did to Blaze's foes back in her kingdom! Do we understand each other?"

The telekinetic slowly nodded and picked the unconscious hero up once again. "What location do you desire her to be in?"

"Give her to my guards. I don't think you're competent enough to even place her somewhere on your own," The prince hissed.

The Anti-Silver handed Blaze over to the Pyromaniacs and watched as they walked off along with the prince.

"Rough break, eh?" A voice said from behind him.

The telekinetic turned to see a green hedgehog behind him. He wore sunglasses and a leather jacket, which fit nicely with his cocky grin and slash marks across his chest. Next to him, a mainly red fox stood with her hand on his shoulder.

"Scourge, my king. Fiona. For what length of time were you positioned there?"

"Since you arrived, Cath," The green villain stated. "I think he was a bit rough on ya. I know that Sonic and his friends can be a little tough and…unruly. You did what you had to do."

"Why did you idly stand by and observe as I was abused? You did not step in and assist in my defense."

"Hey, we work for them for now. My hands are tied, bud," Scourge replied, holding up his palms. "It'll be over soon, though. Once we get Blaze on these guys' side, we're promised some Mobian land and the pleasure of killing our counterparts ourselves."

The black hedgehog nodded. "Destroying Silver is my destiny, but it was opportune to step in to help me once, at the minimum."

"Whatever! You're stone cold! You can handle it!" The king laughed, walking off after the prince. "We'll see ya around, Cath!"

The hedgehog nodded. "Of course, my king."

 _Even in hard times, such as these, he still acts as though I am just a servant of him, and not a friend. Are the childhood memories of yours erased as well, Scourge, or are you shoving them into the back of your mind willingly?_

* * *

*With Silver, ten minutes earlier, in Mobiocity*

After the hero had helplessly watched as the mysterious hedgehog disappeared through the portal with Blaze, the telekinetic could do nothing more than bury his head in his arms and lean against a building, wondering what he could've done more to try and save her.

He had choked. There was nothing more. He was caught off-guard by the newcomer and was quickly defeated because he had let his guard down. Never before, not even when he had faced Nazo, had he experienced a foe with abilities equal to or slightly greater than him. The hedgehog looked exactly like him, yet seemed appalled by Silver's own existence.

Now Blaze was gone, and there was no way to track her.

The hero heard Sonic arrive and talk to Shadow, then to Mute and Blizzard, but he didn't move. Taking out the small purple, velvet box, he flipped it open and stared at the ring, which may never fit on his girlfriend's finger anymore.

* * *

*With Bandit*

"Gizmo, what happened?" The ex-thief heard Dash ask.

"Some dude just shot out of a hyper-charged portal and started wrecking the city! It was gonzo! The energy frequencies were off the charts. He took some cat and disappeared into the portal again, which closed behind him! The dude was beastly. None of my systems worked on him. I couldn't do anything to hurt him!" The wolf recounted. "Are you alright?"

"I'm fine, let's just get this whole…"

The two drifted away, leaving Bandit to wrap a bandage around Honey's leg, which had been injured by some falling debris during the fight. She hated herself for being tossed aside so easily by that hedgehog. He was brutal, cold and…magnificent. She had never seen someone handle their enemies in such a graceful way before. The way he controlled the area around him as well as the people; the way he presented himself and the way he spoke—those things had struck her in some way. She didn't like the guy, no, but she wanted to learn more about him. Other than herself, she had hardly seen anyone control their fighting technique such as him. What was his name? Cathorange? Cathallo? Cath…Catharsis? Yes, that was it. Catharsis.

"I feel so worthless. I couldn't do anything during that. I'm used to fighting with my fists, but I couldn't even get near the guy. I was just a nuisance," Honey sighed, wiping her eyes.

"Glad you could come to terms with it," The raccoon responded blandly, finishing wrapping her bandage. "If you're done feeling sorry for yourself, we should go talk with some of the higher-ups and see what the deal is."

Honey scowled, but got up, limping behind Bandit as they made their way to a military tent. "Can you help me so I don't face plant?"

"You're a tough fighter and supposed hero…You can handle it," The ex-thief called back.

The two made their way into the tent, where a bunch of soldiers and an officer stood, looking at a tablet where the president of Mobius was on. A grey female hedgehog and black hedgehog with red stripes in his hair stood near the piece of technology as well. The two eyed Bandit and Honey as they made their way in. The girl was about to say something when the dark hedgehog raised his hand, stopping her. The two turned back to the screen.

"…to hear this. You say Blaze was taken? How troubling indeed. Do we know who took her?"

"A telekinetic by the name of Catharsis, sir, according to Blizzard. We believe he's not from this world. He claims to be the Anti-Silver," The dark hedgehog stated. "If this is true, then it's more than likely that he's from the dimension of Moebius."

"Moebius? Scourge's area? I thought we had dealt with them all those years ago. Why're they coming back now? And why take Blaze of all of you?" The leader asked. "Do we know where he took your friend?"

"I've got some info, bro," A familiar wolf said, walking into the tent. "Heard the whole thing from out there. Gizmo the Wolf, at your service."

"Who?" The President asked.

The inventor sighed. "Friend of Dash the Cheetah."

"OH! Yes, go on! You said you know something?" The leader questioned.

"As I was saying, whenever a portal opens up, it has to have an origin point. Mobius was the destination, which means that whatever location was on the other side of that portal is where Catharsis took this…Blaze…dudette."

"Yes, we know that. A little common sense can figure that out," Bandit hissed.

"Ease off, Sly Cooper," The wolf said, backing away from her. "What I'm saying is that because the portal was giving off fantastic energy readings, and I know this because my systems picked it up, that means that it was opened through the use of a machine. Every machine can be traced by me if I have a direct link to it. I was able to connect with the software briefly before it booted me out. Fancy stuff, but I was able to go into my logs and find the location of the origin point."

"You're saying you found the place where Blaze is being kept?" The dark hedgehog asked, stepping forward.

"Exactly, bro. That place is known as the Burner Dimension," Gizmo stated.

 **THERE YOU GO! How it all went down while Sonic was racing has been revealed, as well as a few more things. Hmmmm. What could this mean?**

 **Oh, and for those who are curious, Catharsis is an actual word. It means "the process of releasing, and thereby providing relief from, strong or repressed emotions."**

 **If you're having issues with the OC's, I don't know what to tell ya. Backstories and entrances are in previous stories and I did my best to compile all of the important stuff, but some references are just too small to include in the big summary, so if you feel like it, go back and read any of the three stories that you may have missed. Things'll make a little more sense then.**

 **Let me know what you thought of the new character introduced! Catharsis. The reason behind him is that we know Scourge is the Anti-Sonic with other anti-counterparts, but we've never seen an Anti-Silver before…or another character counterpart for that matter, but that's to be revealed later!**

 **Please leave a review with your thoughts!**

 **More to come…**


	5. Sinners Arise

*With Prince Ash, in the Burner Dimension*

"Father…My king," Ash said, bowing before a giant cat that was perched on a throne.

King Inferno was a massive feline. He had the bulkiness of a body builder and the commanding presence of a ruthless dictator, which is precisely what he was. His bulging muscles were tucked behind golden torso and breastplates and shoulder pads with a long, charred black and purple cape that went down to his knees. Golden shin and forearm guards were strapped on to him, and a long, red-hot sword was latched to his waist. Thin metal gloves covered his hands, and he held a long, rocky staff with a bright orange gem placed at the tip top. The king had charred orange fur, and his crown was a golden band that wrapped around his head and once over the top of his skull, reconnecting at the back. He had the same golden eyes as Blaze, but these held more malice.

Inferno leaned forward and growled. "What is it, boy?"

"Blaze…She has been brought here by one of Scourge's assistants. She's…unconscious at the moment," The prince explained.

The king's eyes flashed with fury. "Unconscious? I ordered her to be brought here unharmed. Do you know what kind of complications this brings?"

"Y-yes, father, but—"

"King."

"Of course. Yes, my king, but I assure you my sisters and I will persuade her. We always have a backup plan in case Blaze decides otherwise."

Inferno leaned back. "The source of power."

Ash nodded. He hated talking to his father. He was the only one in his family to be born without the ability to control fire—a birth defect the doctors had said. The news had disappointed the king so much that he refused to call Ash "son" since then. Even though the cat excelled in military school and was now the general of the whole Pyromaniac army of the dimension, Inferno gave no sign of changing his attitude towards his son.

"It seems as though things are going smoothly, despite drawbacks," The large cat continued. "Now, for our plans at revenge. What is the status of our ability to attack?"

"We'd be able to invade and successfully conquer this…Mobius…dimension, but victory will be ensured once we convince Blaze. Might I suggest that w—"

Ash was cut off by his dad. "I decide the course of action, boy. Your suggestions are just that. We wait until we convince her to join our cause."

"And then what?" A voice called.

The king and Ash both looked to their right where a green hedgehog was walking in with a large grin.

 _Scourge…_

"You and your non-modernized army go storming in with your little pokers and try to take over? That is a bad move, friend," The villain chuckled. "See, you don't know Sonic like I do. He's the protector of all of Mobius. He himself is a challenge, not to mention his friends."

"What do you suggest, hedgehog?" Inferno boomed.

 _He listens to an ally we barely have anything in common with before he listens to me…_ Ash thought with a mix of sadness and anger.

"Sonic and his friends have experience in their world behind them. Take that away and they're like stranded puppies. You've already awoken the bear, Your Highness," Scourge continued. "They're gonna be coming after her, because they don't know what you plan to do with her. They're going in blind as bats! We defeat them here, and then with them out of the way, Mobius will be easy pickings!"

"You make sense, King Scourge. You do have more experience with your enemy than we do," The king said, leaning forward once more.

"Experience? I don't have experience," The green hedgehog replied, adjusting his gray crown. "I am my enemy."

"It seems as though our ties have become stronger, then," Ash stated.

"Yes. So it seems," Scourge repeated, smacking his lips together. "So, I never did figure out…Why does the almighty and powerful Inferno Dynasty need the help of a twisted green hedgie like me? I mean, you waged war with the Frostbite Council, so I've heard, and fought back and forth until you had a ceasefire. Two immovable objects! Two titans, yet one has mysteriously fallen while you're still here. If anything, that makes you stronger now that your number one enemy is tucked in and put to bed."

"I've heard that Mobius is a…tougher dimension than most, with beings who have unique abilities. The key to keeping a kingdom strong and alive is to have hands in different areas, along with plenty of allies and brute force," Inferno responded, standing up and walking down to meet the two. "We have brute force, but we could stand to…expand a little. I've worked my way to being king of this land, having to back stab, kill and steal to get where I am now. I'm ruthless, which commands respect, so my authority and empire are strong. What about you, hedgehog? What made you the way you are?"

The villain smiled and cracked his knuckles. "I just had a really…really bad day."

* * *

*With Eggman, five minutes earlier*

"Aaaaaaand…done!" The doctor wheezed as he sealed in the last place of his project.

Robotnik heaved the metal figure up onto a stone table and examined it thoroughly. It was gray and dark purple, almost to the point where it looked black. It had the form and shoes of Shadow, but was metallic all over. The liquid reformium would protect this being from being destroyed by any natural or manmade force, making his latest creation virtually indestructible. That wasn't all. If the being choose to, it could transform and morph into a second version of itself; a version that was more jagged and sharp and had a more threatening appearance. Multiple abilities and attack methods could be performed by the owner of this metal suit, in fact so many skills and weapons were packed into Eggman's creation that even he didn't know all of them or their capabilities. He was only to design the parts that he'd been instructed to.

For some reason, this metal shell looked extremely familiar to Ivo.

"What could the possibly want with this thing?" The doctor sighed, sniffing and looking around.

" _An ally, Ivo."_

A voice rang out inside the doctor's mind, causing him to whirl around and look for the origin of the noise.

" _You won't find me, Ivo. I'm everywhere and nowhere at once."_

"Who are you?" Eggman called, widening his eyes. "I'm losing my mind!"

" _No…You're accessing the darker parts of it. As for who I am…Well, you'll find out in due time. Call me M for now. You should feel lucky. I talk to people I want to talk to. Only reveal myself to those who I can utilize."_

"What do you want? You can't be real," The doctor mumbled, shuddering. "No. I'm the greatest mind the world has ever seen! I will not go insane."

" _You try the same tactics over and over again, expecting different results each time. That is insanity whether you come to terms with it or not. As for you, you're being played."_

"By who?"

" _Inferno and his men. They've used you to build that…item…on the table. You've outlived your usefulness now. What do you think they'll do? Let you go? I'd think not. I've studied Inferno carefully. He and his kids…they're killers. They go after anything they deem weak and attempt to decimate it. You? You're now useless…and useless ties in with weakness."_

"What do you plan to do?"

" _Take away your machines, Ivo, and what are you? Nothing. You're useless. You were a hermit in a cave for almost two years. Luckily, I see you as useful. Always useful. This is a game of shadows—of darkness. Inferno, Scourge, Sonic…all of them are puppets tangled in a web they do not understand. And when the spider…me…awakens? I shall strangle them with that very web."_

"So what're you gonna do? Kill all of us? Is that your grand plan? HM? I won't work for you! I won't do it! I-I-I refuse!" Eggman spat.

 _Ivo, Ivo, Ivo…I don't want to kill you. Just everyone else. I dream of a world consumed in darkness, with the only light being the eternal fire that burns throughout my enemy's homes. When the tides turn and you find yourself alone again, you'll come to me. I'll find you a home where you will work. You say you won't help me? Dear Robotnik, you already have."_

"What'd ya mean?"

" _When I awaken, I shall call you by name, and when I do, then you will have met the only ally you truly have. Forget the past, doctor, because the pieces have already been fixed. Focus on the present, for that is all you can control. As for the future? I've handled that. In time, Ivo Robotnik."_

Then, silence inside the doctor's mind.

* * *

*With Catharsis, twelve minutes earlier*

The black hedgehog was in his temporary quarters, where he stayed until he was summoned by Scourge or one of the guards. He despised this place. Black fumes and the constant heat were not his favorite kind of climate. His living space wasn't exactly premium either. He only had a bed, a rug, a nightstand and a primitive painting near the door.

He couldn't believe Blizzard did not remember anything. It was his destiny to kill Blaze the Cat, but it seemed like he was fighting with her at the time. He was an Anti, like Scourge and the rest of them. The last time Catharsis saw the cat was during the time that Scourge had overthrown his father and seized the throne. The telekinetic thought the cat had died after the explosion.

* * *

*In Catharsis' flashback*

The Anti and his partner, Blizzard, rushed towards the palace gates, providing cover for Scourge as he made his way to the entrance. Catharsis lifted several guards into the air and launched them into the air, not caring where they landed. Behind him, the cryokinetic had frozen some other soldiers solid, shattering them to pieces with a swift clap of the hand.

"Door's locked!" Scourge called.

Catharsis flew over and thrusted his hand towards the door, forcing it open and flinging several more guards backwards. The blue hedgehog, at the time, raced through the area and knocked out the downed soldiers before racing up some stairs at the end of the hallway.

"Catharsis!" The icy cat called.

The telekinetic turned to face his comrade.

"We gonna go help Scourge, or what? Standing around like you've fallen asleep!" The cryokinetic said, huffing and puffing. "I say we take out the armory on the eighth floor so the soldiers don't have any more firepower."

"A logical conclusion, Blizzard," The hedgehog replied, nodding.

"I try."

The two flew up to the floor of the palace where the armory was and burst through the wall, flinging soldiers in every direction. While Blizzard encased the ones that were left standing in solid ice and shielded the door so reinforcements couldn't break in, Catharsis unlocked the vault from the inside using his mind, flinging the door open.

"Look at that. So many explosives," The cat said, whistling at the sight.

A light click from behind the two made the cat turn around.

"I've got an explosive for ya!" A downed guard shouted, throwing a grenade near the two.

Blizzard's eyes widened and pushed Catharsis out of the opening in the wall from which they entered. Caught by surprise, the telekinetic fell out of the opening, falling a few stories before catching himself in midair. Above him, an explosion rocked the palace, sending flames and debris flying out from the eighth floor.

"COMRADE!" The telekinetic shouted, flying towards the floor once more to save Blizzard.

However, a barrage of bullets that flew towards him prevented the telekinetic from nearing the floor. One bullet sunk into his leg, breaking Catharsis' concentration. Losing his ability to hover since his mind was distracted, the hedgehog plummeted to the ground and slammed into the palace courtyard where more soldiers stood around him with guns pointed towards him.

Fury boiled within the Anti-Silver as he thrust his hands outward, ripping the weapons from the guards' grasps and turned their guns on themselves, firing upon each other. The soldiers went down in a heap, and Catharsis attempted to fly up to check on his friend once more. This time, he was successful, but to his dismay, no sign of the cat was to be found. Only some charred ice-cuffs that Blizzard always wore were on the ground near a large gap in the floor.

The Anti was so distracted by his loss that he did not notice the now ex-king of Moebius, Scourge's father, fall from the top floor, past the gaping hole where the telekinetic stood, and to the ground below, where he would remain motionless and silently pass his crown to his son.

* * *

*End of flashback*

But his friend was alive! This was great news, indeed! Even if his former ally didn't remember anything from the past, the fact that Blizzard was well was excellent.

 _How am I to restore his memories, though?_

That was the issue he would have to overcome. If the cat's memories could not be brought back to him, then it would be like Blizzard was dead all over again.

* * *

*With Sonic, in Mobiocity, real time*

After the premises was cleared and the injured heroes were bandaged and cleaned up, everyone met where the finish line once was where the president was waiting.

"No need for explanations. I've already been briefed," The leader of Mobius sighed, holding up a hand to silence any member of the group ready to fill him in. "What I want to know is if we have a plan to bring Blaze back. This is clearly a strike against Mobius by taking one of our best heroes. Moebius, was this kidnapper from?"

The group nodded their heads.

"I see. So Scourge is probably the mastermind of this attack. You! Wolf!"

The president beckoned for a brown, techy dog to walk over near him.

"What was the location Blaze was taken to?" The leader asked.

"The Burner Dimension, sir," The wolf replied. "My name's Gizmo, by the way."

"Do you think you can set up some sort of portal device that would allow these fine heroes to travel there?" The president asked.

"Yeah, but… I mean, I can, but…If I set it up, I can help as well, right? Sir, my team and I have been itching for a mission like this so we can prove ourselves as more than just high-level cops," Gizmo stated. "I'm the only one that has this location. I think it's fair that I tag along."

"I decide what course of action to take overall, inventor. I order that you assist these heroes in their travel to the Burner Dimension and then return with your team to your home sector and carry out your daily duties," The leader of Mobius huffed. "If you can't do that, I'll have you arrested for contempt. I will not have a vital rescue mission for one of our best fighters be impaired by a boy who wants to play hero."

The wolf snorted. "Alright."

"If I may, Mr. President," Tails interjected. "I've built a teleporter a little while ago. It's how Blizzard and Mute and the others got through."

"Who?"

"Me, Boss-man!" The icy cat said, puffing his chest. "My friends and I, that is!"

"Hmm. Doesn't ring any bells. So many of you that you kinda blur together after a while," The president mumbled.

Mute gritted his teeth and placed his hand on his pistol. "Just one bullet."

"Easy, Gunslinger," Jess whispered, placing her hand on his and moving it away from the weapon.

"We could use some help on this mission, Sir," Sonic stated. "We'll be going in blind, so we could use some backup."

"Fine. You can take these four…" The leader said, motioning to Blizzard, Shock Charge, Mute and Jess. "…Along with you. They should provide some extra muscle. Hopefully. Get your friend and bring her back here. Gather any intel on why this happened and what their military is like so we can prepare for further action. I must say, though, do NOT start a war with these people, ok?"

The group nodded.

"You're all dismissed. I wish you the best of luck," The president sighed, walking off.

 **There it is! The new chapter! Sorry it took so long. School is insane.**

 **Hurt my ankle, so why sit around doing nothing while I wait for it to get better? Decided to write a chapter and get that out for you all! For school having started, this story is doing pretty well!**

 **How'd you like the mainly villain-centered chapter? I mean, I had to add a non-villain part at the end so I can set it up for their trip to the Burner Dimension, but yeah! Plot twist! What'd you think of Blizzard being the Anti-Blaze? Obvious looking back, right? Didn't intend to do that until, like, two chapters ago before the idea backhanded me in the face. He is the polar opposite of her: funny and joking, cold and icy, and a guy. Did anybody see that coming or guess that?**

 **If you haven't voted in the poll that's on my page, do that now please!**

 **Remember to leave a review, and thanks again for making this series successful! Remember, this all would have died at the third chapter of the first story if you guys hadn't given it a chance!**

 **More to come…**


	6. Revelations

**HOOO BOY! I feel energized! Nothing to get the blood pumping like listening to action music from movie trailers. I'm weird, I know. Really, in my mind, if a song can't fit into a specific scene, part or trailer for a movie, I don't like it. It's weird, but that's how my brain is wired.**

 **There are a couple times where I'll recommend listening to a certain song at certain points in the story (not in this chapter, though) to add a little mood and help with visualizing or whatever. Taking it to a level that I don't think anyone's gone before with a series. Add music to some parts to really picture it. Or don't follow it. Whateva dude.**

 **Foot's feeling all better, thanks. Doc said 4-6 weeks but I'm feeling great after 1 week. Another week to pass and I'll be all better. By the way, only one person has voted on my poll, so please let me know what you'd like to see at the end of the finale.**

 **Also, I'll be adding quotes in at the beginning of the chapters from time to time that ties in with a certain sections in the story, like this one for instance? Confused? Read the plot twist later on and then red the quote again.**

 **Enjoy!**

* * *

" _The bond that links your true family is not one of blood, but of respect and joy in each other's life."_

 _-Richard Bach_

* * *

*With Sonic*

After the hedgehog and the gang along with the four newcomers and Sally said their goodbye's to the president, they began the walk back to their HQ, where Tails' teleporter was located. Silver trailed behind the group, which was understandable since his girlfriend just got kidnapped. Blizzard walked alongside the telekinetic, kicking rocks along the way, which froze into tiny ice cubes.

The cheetah, Dash, had her headphones in and was listening to music the whole way back, humming the tune to herself. Gizmo, the inventor, helped a limping Honey the Cat along while the raccoon, Bandit, scratched behind her ears with one of her knives. They were a weird group, but then again, when you looked at Sonic and his team, they weren't exactly normal either.

Mute took the head of the group with his weapon raised, looking around for any other assailants to surprise them while Jess did the same in the back. Shock Charge hovered in the sky along with Rouge in hopes of scouting anyone who may want to do them harm.

Blizzard and his little team met up with Sonic and the others long ago to help defeat the dictators in their home who were bent on killing Blaze. After that, they went their different ways, but according to Jess and Shock Charge, in order to keep power to their main base, they needed the help of an echidna they tracked down, who happened to be the cousin of Tikal. This was Shock Charge. After saving him from the grasp of Eggman, who was using him as a power supply, Jess took him back to her home, the Frostbite Dimension, where they did their best to keep their home from falling into chaos, but failed due to a mysterious grey hedgehog that showed up and destroyed their main base. After that, they wandered the land for a while before finally accessing a teleporter to Mobius, where they now resided with Sonic and the others until they could figure out what to do next to save their home.

As for this new team—Dash, Gizmo, Bandit and Honey—Sonic didn't know. They were strange. The wolf seemed to have the hots for the racer, and the raccoon seemed to want to execute them both and flee. The Blue Blur knew Honey in the past. She had a thing for Mighty, he remembered, but unfortunately the armadillo died in an attempted siege of Mobius by Eggman, which also killed Jet the Hawk and his team along with Mina Mongoose and Big the Cat. Honey seemed to be the odd one out in this group, and the hero concluded that she might just have been saying hi when she was thrust into the fray back at the finish line.

Sonic shook his head. Eggman. That name nagged at him. After the Mobian siege a few years back, the Fastest Thing Alive tried to arrest the doctor and throw him in prison for good, but the scientist went off the grid. A little while after that, he had resurfaced with a few non-robotic creations of his that tried to kill him and Amy in the park, but those were somehow destroyed and the doctor was arrested and thrown in the back of an armored police van. When the van got back to the jail, however, the doctor was gone with no signs of escape. The blue hedgehog knew that the villain would never give up his vicious ways, but the fact that every time Sonic and the others almost had him only for him to slip away frustrated him.

Eventually, the group made it back to the HQ and made their way inside.

"Nice place," Dash sighed, looking around.

Gizmo looked towards the kitchen. "Any pizza? Pasta?"

He received a swift punch to the arm by his raccoon teammate. "Stay focused, idiot."

"If you guys'll follow me, I'll take you to the teleporter," Tails stated to the new group of four, and they walked off, leaving the rest of the heroes behind.

"If you all will excuse me for a moment," Silver murmured, floating up to his room and shutting the door.

Blizzard and Mute flopped on the couch and shut their eyes while Shock Charge walked over to a light socket, sat down and jammed him finger in, vibrating slightly.

"So what's the plan?" Shadow growled, looking around. "We can't just storm in, grab Blaze and duck back out. The people who took her have a reason, so they'll probably just come and take her back…or worse."

"They know we're coming. They might have a welcome party when we open up the portal. We need a way to see on the other side without sending anybody through," Knuckles added.

"It can't be one of Tails' robots or drones. Those things are too big," Amy sighed. "Oh, I can just imagine what Blaze is going through right now."

"She's a fighter. Whatever it is, she can fend for herself until we get there and get her out," Jess replied, walking up. "Whatever plan we have, we need to be fully armed and ready in case we're caught off guard or anything goes wrong."

Sally looked around at the group. "The Freedom Fighters are on a mission on the other side of Mobius. I may be able to reach my brother and see if he can provide some support, though."

"Good ol' Elias," Sonic said, smiling. "That'd be helpful. Still, though, we need some way to scout ahead."

A grunt from behind the hedgehog made him, as well as everyone else in the group, turn and look to see its origin. It was the raccoon, Bandit. She was standing in the doorway to the hall that led back to Tails' lab.

"I hate to give that buffoon any credit, but Gizmo is good with technology and inventions. He always carries around a small drone for spying and fighting missions…or the few that we actually go on," She said, sniffing and rolling her eyes. "If you need something small to get through that portal, that's what you've got."

"I thought you were supposed to be with Tails helping set up the portal," Rouge said, looking at her with distaste.

Bandit snorted. "You think I know all that gibberish?"

* * *

*With Gizmo and Tails, in Tails' lab, ten minutes earlier*

"Nice place," The wolf whistled walking into the room next to the fox with Dash and Bandit trailing behind. "Could use some of this stuff back home."

"Yeah. Pretty cool. I get whatever I need from the president," Tails replied. "Up here's the teleporter. Just list off the coordinates and I'll put them in. Should be able to have that up and running in a matter of minutes then."

"Some valuable stuff in here," Bandit muttered behind the two. "Make a nice profit…"

Tails turned and shot the raccoon a distrustful look.

"Ignore her. I try to," The inventor muttered. "So can I like, tag along with you guys anyway? I mean, my team and I are tired of chasing purse snatchers and hunting down guys who skipped trial."

"Sorry, but you heard what the President said," Tails replied, starting up the teleporter. "Ignition rods seem to be functioning. Energy fluctuations kept at a minimum with constant electrical discharge at 2.91 Joules. Seem to be low on Xenon. Should be more in that glass container over there. Can you get me a couple tubes?"

Gizmo nodded and walked over, opening the case and taking out a couple vials, walking back over and handing them to the fox. The young genius unscrewed the lid and swiftly shoved them into a small hole in the machine, emptying both tubes.

"Still isn't working," Tails murmured, checking the systems. "What's going on?"

" _Would you like me to scan the machine, Sir?"_ An electronic voice asked.

The fox's ears perked up and looked around for the origin of the voice.

"Oops. Heh heh. Speaker's on," Gizmo said quickly. "That's Argost. My official program that's connected to all my tech. Sure, bro, knock yourself out."

"Sounds like a deeper JARVIS," Tails stated.

"Who?"

"Never mind."

" _Scanning systems…Analyzing…Scan complete. Results show two issues: the hydro-coolent systems have not been turned on and there is a worn out mazer ray in the main teleportation circle."_

Tails walked over to the platform and looked straight up at the large semi-circular metal arch that stretched over him. "That? That thing wears out all the time. Have to get a new one at some point."

The fox jumped up and punched it, making the piece spark and light up.

" _One problem fixed."_

"Look at that, bruh," The wolf stated, walking over to the side of the machine, maneuvering around Dash, who was bobbing her head to music with her eyes closed. "Let's see if we can get these running."

"It's highly advanced stuff. You won't have a little difficulty—"

A loud whirring sound followed by a loud hiss echoed through the room as the inventor shut the little door to the coolent systems.

"Hm?" He asked, perking his head up.

"Uh…Never mind, I guess," Tails responded. "Let's get these coordinates entered."

* * *

*With Blaze, in the Burner Dimension, one and a half hours later*

"Mmmm. Huuuhhh…Whaza…?" The cat slurred as she began to come to.

Her head throbbed and her nose picked up the familiar scent of burnt rock and ash. Her eyes fluttered open as she looked around slowly.

This was obviously not Mobius.

She was in a large bedroom made completely out of Igneous rock. The room was dimly lit, which hid the various paintings and furnishings around the room. The cat was sitting in a lavish, silk bed with a direct view outside, which bore a large, magma waterfall and a volcano a little ways away. There was a solid gold door at the other end of the room which glowed red hot from the air and temperature around her.

 _Well this isn't weird at all,_ The pyrokinetic thought as she stood up, trying to keep herself from falling to the ground.

Blaze was incredibly weak. Her entire body felt like gelatin. The last time she felt like this was when she was hospitalized after the Darkspine attack.

"Is she up?" A voice hissed from the other side of the door.

"Possibly, Sir. We heard light commotion from inside," Another voice replied, but more sternly.

"And you didn't check to see if she's alright? There might be intruders in there!" The first being, a male, whispered. "Move, you fiery idiot."

Blaze's hands ignited in fire as she prepared herself for whoever was coming through the door. She didn't know who they were or what they wanted, but it was clear to her that she had been taken against her will, so they couldn't be good guys.

The door creaked open as a male cat dressed in combat gear stepped through. Quickly, the hero blasted a few fireballs towards him, which exploded in his face, but when the flames cleared, he was standing there unharmed with a smirk on his face.

"My, you're even feistier than I expected," He purred. "Not surprising given…Well, we'll get to that."

"Who are you?" Blaze asked angrily. "Why doesn't my fire affect you?"

"Same reason fire doesn't affect you, Blaze. I'm a pyrokinetic…or lack thereof. I can't control it…birth defect…but I'm still immune to it."

"Impossible. Lies. I'm the last pyrokinetic alive. My parents told me this when I was little," She hissed.

"Your parents? Interesting."

"I'll ask again. Who. Are. You?"

"Prince Ash of the Burner Dimension, which is where you are now. Welcome to our palace, by the way. We've, being my father, sisters and I, have been trying to find you for quite some time. Lucky we were able to have our little servant retrieve you from those kidnappers who were holding you in that dimension. Mobius, was it?" Ash explained. "Please, have a seat."

Blaze remained standing.

The prince shrugged and sat down. "Suit yourself. You are our special guest, after all."

"Special guest? What do you mean?" Blaze growled, her hands still ignited.

"Might as well douse the fire, Blaze. It's not going to harm me. Besides, if we wanted to hurt you, we already would have done that while you were unconscious. You've been out for quite some time. Idiot Catharsis… Never mind that. You see, Blaze, we've been tracking you for a little while now. Originally, we thought we lost you forever, but then a large amount of heat activity was detected in the Frostbite Dimension a while back. Our scouts, who unfortunately have gone MIA after reporting their last findings about two years ago, saw your handiwork there and trace you back to Mobius through the only working teleporter, where the landscape in this other dimension was clearly destroyed. They confirmed it was you and brought their findings back to us. Since then, we've gathered some help and then sent a rescue mission into place and brought you back here." Ash stated.

"You were tracking me? Why? What's so important about me?" She asked, returning her hands to normal.

Ash leaned back and breathed in. "Many years ago, when my sisters and I were still little—there are three of us total, but back then there were four—my dimension waged war against the Frostbite Dimension after many heated, no pun intended, encounters. My father led the assault against the council members of the region, and there were multiple battles fought both here and in their territory. Whoever had the home-field advantage won the fight, of course. Well after we seized information from a base we destroyed in the Frostbite Dimension, our troops knocked out two special forces troops that were sent to take that information back and retreated back here…"

Blaze's mind twisted. She remembered the story of how Mute and Jess were tortured for treason. The council members found them unconscious near a destroyed base and suspected them of selling information to "the enemy."

"…This led to another attack on our turf here, but this time the fight took place much closer to our palace. The icy soldiers stormed our home and started to take over this castle. It would be a little bit before reinforcements got here and later reclaimed the palace, but during this time my father, the king, retreated into his secret bunker. My mother, the queen, had not made it in time, and the guards refused to let her into the bunker since the king had more authority and value than she did. She had to hide somewhere else. Myself as well as my three siblings had not made it into the bunker as well, so we hid in our science facility near the back of the palace. That's where our mother ran to as well," Ash continued, shaking his head. "Our guards did their best to hold off the enemy but they were closing in nevertheless. Our mother planned to flee the area until it was safe, so she started our own teleporter that we had at the time and set a course for what would now be your kingdom, Blaze. Well my sisters, the three of them, and I hid in the shadows out of view of the enemy troops, but my one sister could not bear to see her mother leave. She ran out and grabbed ahold of my mother and would not let go, despite her wishes."

The hero gave the prince a hard and serious look.

"The enemy soldiers breached the area and began to open fire. My mother tossed my sister through the portal before being hit multiple times. She knew she was done for, that was evident, but she also knew the soldiers would follow the child, my sister, through the portal as well is she did not do something. With her last breath, she used all of her pyrokinetic abilities to destroy the teleporter completely before she passed," The cat finished. "That child, my sister, who ran to my mother out of sadness, confusion and fear…That child was you, Blaze."

The purple cat felt like a wall hit her. She heard her parents tell her a story when she was little about how she got lost in the city one day and they miraculously found her, but…was that story true? It did seem to add up. After she was thrown through the portal, the king and queen of that dimension found her, took pity on her and adopted her as their own, making sure she had no memory of whatever bad things had happened. She did have nightmares when she was little about gunfire and blurry soldiers rushing into some place, but could those really be memories? Were her parents not real?

Blaze took some steps back and collapsed on the silk bed, taking in her surroundings. The room began to twist and turn a little as her brain tried to process this. She didn't want to believe it, but the logic added up, and she wasn't one to question logic.

"This might be a hard thing to swallow, but I can back up my story if you don't believe me," Ash added. "That mark on your forehead? That's no birthmark. That is our family's source of power—where we get our pyrokinesis. No other being that is not in our family has that."

The prince rolled up his sleeve to reveal a similar one, but this one was warped and had a little more red to it. "Mine is deformed. That's the birth defect I mentioned. Because mine is like this, I can't control fire like you or my sisters."

Blaze didn't move. She continued to stare at the ceiling.

"Well, I hope I haven't broken your mind with this information. Whenever you feel comfortable, I would like you to come down to the main chambers. My sisters and father are all eager to meet you."

With that, the prince left Blaze to her thoughts.

* * *

*With Eggman*

The doctor sat back in his chair and looked around. It troubled him that he was confined to this room for now. His meals were brought down to him and his bed was transported down as well. At least he had a bathroom down here. Ever since Blaze had arrived, for which Ivo had no idea why they would want her here, he had been ordered to stay down in his workshop until they "convinced" her to stay. Obviously if she saw him before they were able to sway her, things may not work out well which would abolish King Inferno's plan and probably lead to the doctor's own demise in the process.

The metal carcass of his latest creation sat at the edge of the room on the table. Eggman had not touched it since his spark of insanity with the voice in his head a little while ago. He wondered what the Inferno Dynasty would need this for. They had enough power, and with the help of Scourge, Fiona and that other telekinetic, they could crushed anyone in their path…surely.

So what was it that made them strive for extra muscle? Had the king and the prince heard the same voice that he had heard?

* * *

*With Sonic and the others, in Tails' laboratory, real time, in Mobius*

After Sonic and the others filed their way into the room, the fox started up the teleporter and turned to the group.

"What's the status on some extra help, Sally?" The fox asked.

"Elias said he's glad to help. He does owe me one from a previous Freedom Fighter mission a few years ago. The soldiers should be here in a few hours," The queen stated.

"Good to hear," Came the reply. "I've connected my super computer to the camera feed in Gizmo's drone. Whatever the camera picks up will be displayed on the giant screen here."

The wolf pulled out a cube, pressed a button and tossed it in the air. The metal box began to click, spin and unfold at a rapid pace, catching itself in midair and hovering before it hit the ground. Two tiny turrets were attached to the front wings and a camera was perched at the head of the drone.

"Alright, broskis, time to start the show," The inventor muttered, guiding his drone towards the portal from his arm pad. "Please don't blow up, please don't blow up, please don't blow up…"

The robot entered the rift, disappearing from the heroes' sight. After a few seconds, the video feed sparked to life, revealing a fiery, lava-covered wasteland all around. The drone maneuvered around the area, picking up more fire, more rock and most soot in the air. A ways away, the group spotted a large rock formation that looked to be a castle, which was to the right of a massive volcano miles away.

"Looks like this area is safe to go in," Mute stated. "Still, we should be prepared."

"Agreed," Shadow commented. "Last time we traveled through unprepared, we were captured by some ice goons."

"Not my fault," Blizzard defended, holding up his hands.

"Alright, so we'll go through the teleporter with these exact coordinates in a few hours after the reinforcements get here," Sonic stated, standing up. "Until then, we should get ready."

The group nodded and began to disperse.

Gizmo guided his robot back through the rift and caught it in his hands, examining it thoroughly. Tails closed the portal and walked off to get some gear for the trip.

"Sonic, can I talk to you for a sec?" Sally whispered.

The Blue Blur caught a cautious look from Amy, but a light wave of the hand told her that everything was fine.

"Sure. Let's go upstairs first," He replied.

 **There it is! One of the big surprises in the finale has been revealed! Hope you guys enjoyed! See, since we know nothing about Blaze's past except that she rules over her kingdom in a different dimension, I thought I'd add on to the story and make it interesting, tying things in that was teased in the past, which you guys probably didn't pick up on (like the Mute and Jess thing). I made her mysterious and broad past tie in with the story in what I think was a nice and clever way while also sticking to the fact that she does rule over a different dimension. What'd you guys think?**

 **Please let me know in the reviews! I've been turning this idea in my head for days trying to make it all fit together, which is one of the reasons this took so long to post. I wanted to make it perfect.**

 **Please vote on the poll on my page as well! There's only one vote right now, which is a little sad. *Cries intensely* Just kidding. Seriously, though. Please vote on what special treat you guys want for the end of the series.**

 **More to come…**


	7. Furries With Powers

**Alright! So I'm gonna set a weekly day and time for when new chapter will be posted so everyone can know when new ones arrive and not just willy-nilly. So, unless I have plans that derail this, which I will let people know if something does a week in advance (If something comes up after I posted this, I won't be able to let everyone know, so if no chapter is posted at that time, don't freak out. I haven't forgotten. Something just came up unexpectedly. This is a story, after all, not a TV show), I should post every Saturday at 12:00pm Eastern Standard Time in the U.S. Obviously time zones are different, so if you wanna make sure you get alerted when a new chapter is posted right away, I suggest a favorite/follow (not to boost any stats, but to help you guys keep track of times if you want). Those who don't, there's a delay in FanFiction on when a chapter is posted to the public, so expect a 5-30 minute delay when a new chapter is posted. Hope you guys like this system! Keeps me on a deadline to crank out new material and eventually get where I want to be while helping you guys stay tuned in.**

 **Make note that this schedule will start as of next week. I'll be away at my grandma's this weekend so I won't be able to post Saturday at noon. This'll have to suffice.**

 **Also I've started a little story in the Teen Titans fandom, so if you're a fan of primarily the old series like I am, I encourage you to check it out.**

 **PEACE!**

Sally and Sonic walked upstairs where only Blizzard, who'd gone upstairs immediately after the scouting run, lay sleeping on the couch and Silver was still in his room upstairs, not wanting to be disturbed. The two walked past the cat and into the kitchen.

"Freeze…Anti…Anti…No fire…Hurt…Throne…" The feline mumbled as the two moved past him.

"Your friend…" The chipmunk whispered once they got into the kitchen.

"Blizzard?" The hero asked.

"Yeah. Is he alright?" She questioned.

"He's fine. Just having a bad dream is all," The Fastest Thing Alive replied, then smirked. "You concerned?"

"I wouldn't wish harm on anyone…Anyone who's not a villain at least."

"Yeah. He's fine. Had a rough past is all. Really lighthearted. Thinks he's a comedian," Sonic explained. "I'm sure you didn't pull me aside to talk about Punny Boy over there."

"Look who's getting more astute," The queen whispered, smiling. "I want to come with you guys."

"Sal, listen…"

"Hear me out. Usually when you all go on these missions, something big happens and everything hits the ceiling. I'm a queen in Mobius, so maybe I can put some leverage on your side. They might listen to an authoritative figure. It may just be a big misunderstanding," Sally stated.

"The guy said he was the Anti-Silver, so he's probably working for Scourge. You really think you can reason with that psycho?"

The chipmunk rolled her eyes. "I can't reason with my own counterpart. But what if he wasn't working for Scourge? Remember when you told me that Silver and Blaze had traveled together all the time and how they fought side by side? Well the same thing must apply to the Anti-Silver right? Every Anti's main goal, aside from Fiona and Scourge, is to eliminate their own counterpart. After that, they're fine. Why would the Anti-Silver want to hurt Blaze? Maybe he needed a companion like Silver did."

Sonic shook his head. "Far fetched. I can't let you come with us. You may get hurt. Like you said, you're an important figure in Mobius."

"I'm also a Freedom Fighter founder, Numb Nut," The girl teased. "I'm not helpless."

"As I recall I saved you when we first met."

"And as I recall Amy saved you a couple times."

"Touché," The blue hedgehog sighed. "Fine, but you have to be careful."

The hero and the queen whirled around when they heard Blizzard shout in surprise and fall off the couch, thudding to the floor and groaning.

"You alright?" Sonic asked, receiving a weak thumbs-up from this frosty friend before turning back to the chipmunk. "Alright. Let's head back down to the others."

* * *

*With Silver*

The telekinetic was stretched out on his bed, staring at the ceiling. Normally, he'd have all kinds of fight in him and would be itching to go after Blaze, but two things really hit him hard. One, he was supposed to propose to her tonight, and now that she's been kidnapped, he might as well make a shallow grave with a tombstone that read "here lies Silver's plans." The second thing was that this was the second time Blaze was the specific target of an attack. Sure, heroes get bulls-eyes on their back all the time, but both times he was unable to do something. How could a hedgehog with the ability to move stuff with his mind be tossed around like a pebble so easily?

A knock on the door caused him to sit up and wave his hand, opening the door to reveal Blizzard.

"Ya know, normal people would just say come in," The cat said, walking in. "Then again we are a bunch of talking furries with super powers. Normal and people don't exactly apply to us."

Silver looked down. He knew the feline was trying to cheer him up, but everything seemed hollow at the moment.

"I went on to a fan site and put in a request for a bunch of Silvaze things to cheer you up!" Blizzard chuckled nervously, rubbing the back of his head and pulling out a laptop, opening it to a page that had the word 'Error' on it. "So many responses the site crashed."

The grey hedgehog just looked back up at his friend and raised an eyebrow.

"Well say something, man! If I wanted to talk to myself I'd go find Mute or the nearest brick wall," The cold hero added, waving his arms around. "We're gonna go save your girlfriend from some re-colored copy of you and you're sitting in here sighing like someone kicked your new puppy."

Silver got up and cleared his throat, which made Blizzard lean forward in anticipation.

"It just goes to show how many more fangirls I have than you," The hero said hoarsely, giving a weak smile.

"They probably just want fashion advice since you wear those girly wrist and leg bracelets," The cat retorted, pointing at the telekinetic's gold cuffs.

Steam rose from the hedgehog's head before he walked out of the room with the cat right behind him. The two made their way downstairs and headed towards the basement.

"Glad I could snap you out of your funk before you started writing tragedy stories and making frequent entries in your diary," Blizzard mumbled.

"Heard that," Silver called as he made his way down to the others.

"Not surprised," Came the reply.

Once in the basement, the two heroes were greeted to an organized kind of chaos. Sonic was talking to Tails while Amy gave Sally the stink eye, Shadow was leaning against the wall talking to Rouge while Knuckles gave fleeting glances in their direction. Mute and Jess were trying to keep Shock Charge from sticking his fingers in light sockets for a boost of energy.

Silver walked away from Blizzard and up to Sally. "What's going on?"

"Glad you could join us. How're you doing," The queen asked with concern.

"I've dealt with worse."

"I'm sure, since your whole world was a heap of fire and ruin at one point."

"Thanks for the pleasant memory."

Sally sighed. "Sorry. We're waiting for some of my brother's soldiers to join us here before we go into that portal over there and get Blaze back. We scouted the area where she was taken. The place is hot. Like, burning hot."

"Hotter than me?" Blizzard interjected, leaning in and grinning.

"Brain is already frozen over I see," Sally replied without missing a beat, causing Silver to smile a little and Blizzard to hang his head. "Once the soldiers are here, we go in and storm the place where Blaze looks to be held, being a giant rock castle."

"Hot? So this place is scorching?" The icy cat asked.

"Blaze suffered in your temperature, now it's your turn," The grey hero responded. "I'm good to go whenever. I've got my thoughts back together."

"You're welcome, by the way," The cold feline sighed, walking away to talk with Mute and Jess.

"Is your friend always that egotistical?" Sally asked, placing her hands on her hips.

"He means well," Silver assured. "Egotistical? No. He just loves to make jokes. Weird, really. He and Blaze get along so well, but they're the polar opposites of each other."

"Like Sonic and Scourge," The queen said.

"Kinda, but they're not mortal enemies. If Blizzard was bent of killing Blaze, then yeah, it'd be just like that, but he's not."

"A little like Sonic."

"Personality wise?"

"Mhmm."

Silver smirked. "So does that mean he's got an appeal to him?"

The chipmunk scrunched up her face at the remark and stuck her tongue out at the telekinetic. "Nyah. I never said that."

"You never denied it either."

Sally huffed and turned away from him, walking off towards the portal.

* * *

*In the Burner Dimension, ten minutes earlier, with Prince Ash*

The dictator of the dimension sat at the head of a large stone table in a fiery chair. The whole room was fairly large with a bronze chandelier hanging above the center of the table. Eight chairs were along each side and the room was illuminated by a lava waterfall that trickled down the far wall. Servants made completely out of fire bustled back and forth, bringing various food items to the table.

Prince Ash was in the chair closest to his father, but said nothing. Two girls sat across from him—his sisters. That is, his other sisters. Not Blaze. The one directly across from him was Princess Ember. She was a little more serious and less talkative than her other sister or even Ash. It was difficult to be more hardened in personality than the prince, but that's what she was like. She wore a red shirt with a torn up black jacket over it. She had golden eyes and she wore charred black pants. Her fur was scarlet, and her hair was cut short, styled so that is was spiked forward. The other one, diagonally left of the prince, was Princess Solar. She was extremely peppy and had a cheerful outlook on life, which was surprising since everyone else in her family was either dead or had a heart of stone. Make no mistake, though. If she or her family was threatened, she could become lethal very fast. The girl had lighter purple fur than that of Blaze and had golden eyes as well. Her hair was fairly short, but not as short as Ember's. It was about neck length with one piece dangling in front of her right eye that she had to constantly push out of the way. Solar wore a bright orange shirt with white pants, which she somehow managed to keep ashes and dust off of.

"Send for my daughter," Inferno ordered to one of his servants. "Tell her that we have a welcome dinner ready and would like to get to know each other better."

"Almost sounds like you care, father," Ember said flatly, receiving a fiery glare from her parent, to which she gave one right back.

One hobby of Ember's was antagonizing her father—something Ash would never dare due.

"Oh, I'm so excited! A family reunion!" Solar cheered, clapping her hands. "I can't wait to hear all of Blaze's stories! She must have been on a ton of adventures!"

"I would like to hear about her battle in the Frostbite Dimension. What has happened to the council members? They have vanished and the area collapsed, yes, but what became of them?" Inferno wondered aloud.

Just then, a servant came up and whispered something in the king's ear, to which he nodded.

"I expected such. Next time it opens, send our Moebian allies to deal with them," The leader grumbled. "We cannot let them get to her before we do."

After a few minutes of silence, the door at the opposite end of the room creaked open, and in stepped Blaze, who was accompanied by several pyromaniacs.

"Dear daughter, please have a seat. I'm sure you have many questions, as do we, so please…let us discuss this matter over a filling meal, hm?" Inferno greeted with a wry smile, motioning to the table. "I'm sure you would like to meet your other two sisters. You've already met your brother, Ash."

The prince nodded, to which the pyrokinetic nodded back. Blaze walked over to the farthest chair at the table and took a seat.

"I see you are still unsure of us, as is to be expected. You know almost nothing of us, but we know much about you…although some issues remain unclear," The large cat thundered. "Please, you have nothing to fear from us. We are your family, and you shall be treated as such. Royalty! Now I suppose we should enlighten you on your origin a little more. Ash has given you a brief summary, but I suppose it would be better to start at the beginning…"

 **A build up chapter! Sorry there was no action, but I have to set things up for it to work!**

 **Please leave a review and maybe check out my Teen Titans story if you're either a fan or curious.**

 **Also, for any people who want stories with chapters updated a little more frequently, my good virtual friends that I've never met in person (lol), TheHedgehogTrio, are back online and are posting chapters with force now. Check them out!**

 **More to come…**


	8. Dire Straits

*Twenty minutes later*

"…That, dear daughter, is how we came to find you after all these years. You see, finding you is not only a great importance to us as a family, but to the dimension as well," Inferno sighed. "You were, and possibly still are, the best pyrokinetic fighter aside from myself. Your sisters and brother couldn't best you when you were kids."

"It's true. You were amazing," Solar giggled, receiving an odd look from Blaze.

The purple hero looked around at the others. Ash nodded slightly while Ember huffed and rolled her eyes. Inferno smirked, clearly pleased to have her back in his possession.

"How come I haven't remembered any of this aside from dreaming bits and pieces?" Blaze asked.

"It is possible you were too young to remember at the time, or that it was such a traumatic experience for you that your mind forced itself to forget," The king responded. "That aside, we would love to see you demonstrate your prowess and skills against some of our guards. I'll go and make a public speech announcing your return. A festival must be held!"

"Thank you, but I really must be getting back to my friends," The cat sighed, standing up from her chair. "They must be worried and I have to let them know I'm alright. Your process of bringing me here wasn't exactly peaceful, and although I am fascinated to hear more of my past, I am sad to say that I cannot stay here."

Inferno stared daggers at his son, who in turn bowed his head and sighed.

"Oh, but you must at least stay for the ceremony. The people would love to know you are alright and safe. It would bring such joy to them," The ruler insisted. "If nothing else, please at least demonstrate your powers to us. It would please me beyond words to see how my little girl has grown."

He saw Blaze carefully study him before nodding.

"I'll do a couple of tests and fights for show, but after that I must be heading back," She concluded.

"Splendid! I'll have my guards escort you back to your room until everything is prepared!" Inferno boomed, and motioned for his soldiers to take her away.

After his daughter left the room, the large cat huffed and stood up, turning to his two other daughters. Picking up his brass cup, he took a long drink of of some boiling water and breathed out heavily, regaining his composure that he'd lost on the inside when Blaze rejected his offer to stay longer.

"Ember, you must face her in one of the challenges. Her source of power on her head…Surely you know how to super-charge it?"

The moody villain nodded and smiled devilishly. "Are you planning what I think you are?"

"Super-charging her power source will warp her mind and force her into a power-hungry frenzy. She'll be easier to manipulate to our cause that way," The dictator explained, looking back and forth between the two. "It is important that she joins our cause. Otherwise, we cannot expand my kingdom. Mobius contains many special features my empire lacks."

Inferno turned and looked towards his son, who was talking briefly to a guard before sending the fiery soldier away.

"The portal from Mobius has opened again, my king. They're coming. What do you recommend we do?" The prince asked.

The tyrant surveyed his options. His guards would not be able to take down this group alone, judging by what his green accomplice has stated. More firepower and skill would be required in order to drive them away. The heroes could not reach Blaze before he convinced her to join his side. His daughters and…the prince…were needed here at the castle in case things went sideways. It seemed like the only logical choice would be to…

"Send a welcoming party after them," Inferno thundered. "Have Scourge and Fiona lead the team, and…hand over our guest to the good scientist."

Ash nodded before jogging off to carry out his tasks.

* * *

*With Ash, five minutes later*

After he had given the order for Scourge and Fiona to lead a group of soldiers to attack the Mobian heroes, the prince went into a room that contained a large metal vault. Motioning towards two guards, it was slowly opened, and the general stepped inside and made his way through the gold and treasures to what he was looking for.

A purple, gray and black piece of crystalized rock was perched on a stand inside a glass case. The label on the container read "M."

* * *

*With Mute, a half hour earlier, in Mobius*

Once Elias's three teams of ten soldiers had arrived, the team let them in and Sally briefed them on the situation. They seemed prepared, but Mute insisted on more weaponry for them in case something went awry. The queen had officially handed authority and control over the group of guards to the sniper and went away to call her brother and let him know his enforcements had arrived.

"Alright," The hedgehog stated, walking into the HQ armory and opening the vault, revealing weapons and gear of every sort inside. "We've scouted the area and have chosen a spot where we'll have the least chance of being spotted. Still, we need to be prepared. Don't know what the enemy has or their motivation. They could be hostile."

While their new leader was filling them in, the guards helped themselves to more magazines of ammunition, flak jackets, some knives and pistols, and some grenades.

"Here're some earpieces so we can communicate better in case we get distance between us," Mute said, holding out his palm and revealing two small earpieces. "We'll have three separate groups of ten each. The leader of each will have the earpiece. I've got mine and my partner, Jess, has her's already. Team one, you guys are Alpha. Team two, you're Beta. The third team will stay behind here and guard the place while we're in there. In case this place gets attacked, we need troops here to hold down the fort. Make sure everything goes smoothly. We get in, grab Blaze and get out. Don't want this thing blowing up into a war. President's orders."

The soldiers readied up and got in their groups, facing the hedgehog and nodding.

"Alright," The super-soldier huffed. "Let's head to the teleporter."

* * *

*With Sonic, two minutes later*

The Blue Blur turned his head and saw Mute followed by the thirty guards Elias had sent walking down the stairs into Tails' lab. The hedgehog was armed to the teeth with things from the armory. His sniper rifle that he had when Sonic first met him was strapped to his back along with an automatic rifle. A pistol was holstered to the front of his bullet-proof vest and a combat knife was tucked in a sheath that was strapped to the front of his left thigh. His metallic face plates that shrouded his head from everyone was clasped to his skull—another thing he had when Sonic and the others first encountered him.

"Whoah," He heard Jess mumble, which drew a smirk from the hedgehog.

Jess had her own weapons with her, being two pistols—her favorite weapons—strapped to her waist along with grenades across her chest and a shotgun strapped to her back. Shells for her weapon were held to her metallic shoulder pads by some tape and a dagger was sheathed in a metallic clasp under her right forearm. Jess wasn't one to show many emotions other than annoyance, seriousness and the occasional flicker of happiness. It was how she and Mute were trained when they were in the process of becoming elite soldiers in their dimension when they were young. It was refreshing to hear her break from her seemingly-robotically programmed emotions once in a while.

"What?" Mute questioned, picking up on her subtle gawking.

"It's nice to see you decked out in your gear," She replied, lightly punching him in the shoulder.

The raccoon in the room, Bandit, made a hurling gesture behind the two, to which she received a light kick from the wolf, Gizmo.

"Alright. Is everyone good to go?" Tails asked.

Amy had her hammer, Shadow and Rouge had their G.U.N. pistols locked and loaded, Sonic was pretty well rested, Silver seemed to be in good spirits, Shock Charge was fully electrified and Blizzard was set-to-go after having a glass of liquid nitrogen. Knuckles had downed a mixture of coffee, Red Bull and Five Hour Energy, so his eyes were wide and he was ready to punch somebody into the next lifetime if they said "boo" to him.

"Seems like it, buddy!" Sonic replied, giving a thumbs up.

The fox turned back to the portal and punched some buttons on the keypad, and the rift sparked to life. One by one, the heroes walked through until Sonic was the last one to go through. He turned to look at the ten remaining guards in the room along with Dash, Gizmo, Bandit and Honey, who were standing beside them. Nodding, he lowered his head and walked through.

* * *

*With Gizmo*

"Hey, Dash? What's that at the center of the portal?" The inventor asked, pointing towards the rift.

"What? I don't see anything," She replied, squinting.

"You have to get closer, bro," He insisted. "It's right there!"

Moving closer to the machine's opening, the cheetah and Honey looked dead center at the rift and shook their heads.

"I don't see any—WAH!"

Dash shouted in surprise as Gizmo gave her and the yellow cat a light push into the rift, sending his friends tumbling through to the other side. Looking back, he saw Bandit, who was giving him an evil grin.

"I'm not staying here while they go save the day. I refuse to go back to stopping purse-snatchers," The wolf hissed. "You have to come with us by law, dude. In ya go."

The ex-thief shrugged. "As long as I get to shank someone, I'm not complaining."

She, too, walked through the rift and disappeared. Gizmo turned to the soldiers and sighed.

"Once I'm through, shut the portal behind me. I'll contact this place through my tech when we're ready to head back," He explained, and the guards nodded.

Turning back towards the portal, he hopped through and tumbled out the other side. Immediately, he was hit with a wall of heat which made him gasp in surprise. The area they had picked was unchanged. Everything was the same before. Black clouds in the sky. Volcano. Hot ground. Lava. Rocks. Everything was the same. Everything.

Everything except the massive amount of fiery beings dressed in metal combat armor that held different sharp weapons which surrounded them. Before the group of heroes, a green hedgehog stood smirking with a familiar black hedgehog and a red fox they hadn't seen before stood at his sides.

Shadow broke his gaze from the enemies around them and glared at the wolf and his two companions.

"What're you doing here? You're supposed to be back in Mobius," He hissed, staring daggers at the three.

"We fell in?" Gizmo whimpered, shrugging nervously.

* * *

*With Sonic*

"Scourge. I shoulda known…" The blue hero muttered, looking at his evil counterpart.

"I have a feeling you already knew before you stepped through, Sonic ol' pal," The villain responded, adjusting his sunglasses and smirking. "You've met Fiona and Catharsis already."

"I haven't, no. Not Catharsis." The Fastest Thing Alive said blandly.

"When I have completely spliced your spinal cord from your body, you will have desired that you never held the misfortune of being introduced to me," The black telekinetic stated.

"Whatever, Hamlet," Sonic yawned, drawing a murderous look from his foe. "So what hand do you have in this, Scourge? What do you want with Blaze?"

"It's not what I want, Speedy. It's what our new allies want. King Inferno just wants his dear daughter back, and so we gave her to him. Now we plan to annihilate Mobius for all the hardships you caused us…For those many defeats against us and for taking his precious little girl from him."

"Wait, what? Blaze's father ordered this? He's dead!" Silver exclaimed. "Both her parents passed a few years ago."

"Wrong daddy, cry baby," The Moebian king chuckled. "We're the welcome wagon. Surrender now and we'll still obliterate you. Yadda yadda yadda. Honestly, let's just skip the pointless dramatic speeches. I wanna get straight to the fighting!"

"Gladly," Sonic responded, lunging at his clone.

* * *

*With Silver*

After Sonic had attacked Scourge, chaos broke out. The fiery soldiers that surrounded the heroes closed in, wielding their swords, spikes, maces and spears. Mute's soldiers began firing at the enemy troops, taking them down easily, but there were hundreds all around them, all closing in rapidly. Soon, it'd be a hand-to-hand fight. Shadow had joined in the fight against Scourge, helping Sonic battle the green menace while Amy and Tails took on Fiona. Silver went straight for the one who started this: Catharsis.

The raccoon from earlier…Bandit, he thought her name was…joined in on the fight against the enemy telekinetic, even though Silver thought he recalled that she and her friends were ordered to stay behind. Anyways, the grey hedgehog shot towards his foe and sent a burst of energy towards him, to which his assailant deflected it with ease. Grabbing hold of his foe, the telekinetic headed straight for the rocky ground, flipping the black hedgehog so his chest was facing downward and dragging the hero's foe across the ground before tossing him back where Bandit latched on to him and brought him back down to the ground again. Silver saw her draw her daggers from the cuffs strapped to her wrists and started to slash at Catharsis's chest, to which he did his best to keep her from hitting him. Kicking her off, he floated into the air and used his telekinesis to hold on to her in mid-air by her neck. Silver rushed towards his foe, but was hit with a burst of energy, knocking him back. Bandit was struggling to get out of his grasp, and succeeded when she tossed a knife at the hedgehog, stabbing him in the shoulder and causing him to lose focus. Catharsis lost his hold of the ex-thief and she dropped to the ground. Silver took this opportunity to use his own powers to immobilize his enemy in the air and repeatedly pound him into the ground. The black hedgehog broke free of the hero's grasp and flew towards the grey hedgehog, dodging blasts of energy and sending a devastating punch to his face, knocking the hero back.

* * *

*With the other heroes*

"Closing in fast! Prepare for hand-to-hand!" The sniper called, reloading his automatic weapon. "Alpha, watch your six! Knuckles moved so you've got an opening."

Jess fired more rounds into the fire soldiers, which turned black and dropped to the ground. "These guys keep coming."

Knuckles ran up to one and punched the faceless soldier's flaming head off, launching the body into more of the fiery troops and slamming his fists into the pile that had fallen. "Let 'em come! We've got enough for all of them!"

Shock Charge thrust out his hand and lightning shot out from his fingertips, electrifying the metal that encased the flaming soldiers, sending them crumbling to the ground, vibrating violently. Rouge flew around in the skies, taking one by one out with her pistol while Blizzard froze multiple baddies around him with bursts of ice and snow.

"Getting' pretty steamy over here!" The icy feline called, cranking up the dials on his ice cuffs. "Hooo!"

"Goin' hot!" Mute called, tossing a C4 into the crowd of soldiers and pressing the detonator button, causing an explosion which sent troops flying everywhere.

Honey batted away a metal sword from one of the soldier's hands and punched a hole through its chest with her glowing white fists, sending it falling to the ground. Picking up the weapon, she tossed it to Sally, who chopped off the legs of one fiery being and plunged the blade into the same trooper's head, extinguishing the fire. The queen whirled around and blocked a spear jab from another guard, stabbing the guard in the stomach region with her sword, grabbing its armor pad and flipping it over her. Grabbing her blade, she drew it back out and stomped out the fire on the soldier's head before slicing the arm off of a trooper that was sneaking up behind Jess, who in turn got its head taken off by the barrel of said girl's pistol.

"Look at you go, girl," The grey female hedgehog huffed, pressing the muzzles of her weapons underneath the chin of another flaming soldier and firing several rounds before knocking the legs out from underneath it and reloading. "Nice to see not every member of a royal family is afraid to get their hands dirty."

"Doing pretty good yourself," Sally panted, blocking several sword attacks from another guard. "Honey's kicking butt over there!"

"I've got some help," The yellow cat replied just as a yellow and black blur shot past her, taking out a row of soldiers.

Dash stopped next to the girls and gave them a couple peace signs and a smile before speeding off again.

"Wait, aren't you guys supposed to be back in Mobius?" Sally asked, to which she got a snort from Honey.

"Talk to Gizmo about that, dear," She replied, punching a hole through a flaming guard's head.

"Please don't. I don't feel like explaining my actions right now, dudette," The inventor replied, blasting away some enemies with the cannons that were wrapped around his arm.

Jess looked over at her boyfriend, Mute, who was currently engaged in a fist fight with another flaming being.

"Boys. Always needing our help," She sighed. "Be right back. Gotta go save the super soldier from being a super smolder."

All around the heroes, soldiers continued to fall as their attacks on the heroes and friendly troopers kept failing.

* * *

*With Silver*

The telekinetic slammed his fists into Catharsis's back, rocketing his foe into the ground once more before landing right beside the hedgehog and rapidly banging the villain's head into the ground. Lifting him up, Silver turned the hedgehog around so Bandit could get some slashed and kicks in on the Anti before Silver picked him up and performed a move he learned a few years ago. Getting down on one knee, Silver brought Catharsis's back down on his knee, creating a cracking sound as the villain shouted in agony, rolling his broken enemy off of his leg, Silver got up and looked down on the battered clone of him.

"You took her from me. Now, you're gonna tell me everything that these people want from her," Silver hissed, picking the woozy hedgehog up once again and boring his gold eyes into Catharsis.

In response, the black hedgehog spit in the hero's face.

Silver lost it.

* * *

*With Tails and Amy*

Fiona tumbled across the hot, rocky area before getting up and clutching her arm. Amy rushed towards her once more and attempted to crush the fox beneath the girl's hammer, but the villain rolled to her left and punched the fangirl in the face, knocking her back some. Tails soared towards her, sending a barrage of kicks and punches to her face and chest before round house kicking her across the check, sending her falling to the ground again.

"That's for backhanding me all those years ago," The young boy stated, glaring at his foe.

Fiona's hand shot up and grabbed Miles's leg, bringing him down to the ground and readying her fist so that it may connect with his face. "You little brat…"

Just as she was about to pummel the young fox, the butt of a hammer smacked into the red fox's jaw, sending her flying in the air once more.

* * *

*With Scourge*

The green hedgehog back flipped in the air, dodging a punch from Sonic, but receiving multiple shots to his shoulders and sides by Shadow's gun. The Ultimate Life Form surged forward, slamming his fists into the king before lifting his shoe up so that the bottom was right in front of the green hedgehog's face before using the thrusters to shoot backwards, torching Scourge's face. The villain howled in pain as he clutched his face before being knocked to the ground by his counterpart.

 _Maybe this should be retreat?_ He wondered.

Fiona and Catharsis were getting wailed on and the fiery army that was provided to him was running low, so things didn't seem to be looking good. His concentration was broken when Sonic kicked him in the jaw once more, knocking his head backwards.

"You are…just full of fun…aren't ya, Sonic?" Scourge panted, standing up. "Haven't changed a bit. Can't learn to have some fun with an old friend."

"We're not friends. Let's make that clear," The Blue Blur corrected, blocking some punches and kicks from the villain.

Sonic grabbed the king's leg and lifted him up into the air, twirling him around some before slamming him into the ground again. Scourge got up and wobbled a little before regaining his balance.

"Alright. You win this little scuffle, but we'll see each other very soon. I promise you that," He huffed, suddenly racing over to Fiona and picking her up in his arms.

He saw Catharsis slowly crawling toward him. He seemed to have been beaten up so badly that his powers were drained and he couldn't walk at the moment.

"Scourge…My lord…Friend…Assist me…" The black hedgehog wheezed, struggling to get the words out.

"Sorry, Cath, but I can only take one. You understand, right?" Scourge replied before speeding off, leaving his loyal servant in the dust.

As he neared the castle, a large fiery dome erupted from the ground, and once he was inside the stronghold, the fiery force field was sealed completely. Prince Ash walked out to greet them.

"We saw how it went," He said. "You were not joking when you said they were difficult. It looks as though they brought friends. Where is your…telekinetic assistant?"

"They captured him," Came the reply with no trace of sadness or anger.

"No loss there. They may do with him as they wish. Interrogate him, probably, but they would find out all in due time anyway," Ash huffed. "We shall get you two to the medical room, stat. Your face is badly burned, Scourge. I'll meet with my father and we'll discuss what to do next."

* * *

*With Sonic*

The fiery soldiers were quickly finished after Scourge and Fiona retreated. Two soldiers were lost during the fight, and Blizzard and Tails seemed a little roughed up from their battles, but everyone else seemed alright. Mute's, Jess's and all of the Mobian soldiers' ammunitions had been used up, though, so they were now defenseless, which nagged at all of them.

There was no way any of them were getting inside that force field until the next time the villains attacked, so it would be wise for the group to find some place to hide while they recovered. They would form a new plan there. Saving Blaze would prove much more difficult than originally anticipated.

"It doesn't look like that fight was a complete loss," Sonic said, looking over at the black hedgehog that was lying on the ground.

Blizzard was taunting the beaten villain.

"Man, you got blasted! Trashed! Rekt! You're at our mercy now, boy! Oh ho ho! We gon' do all sorts of things to ya!" The icy feline jeered.

"Friend…You must remember who you are…Do not jest…Cease taunting…" The evil telekinetic said, his voice just barely above a whisper.

Sonic saw Silver walk over and roll the Anti on his back with the help of the hero's boot. Catharsis just wheezed and rolled his head back.

"Accomplish what you desire…Only one can exist…Annihilate me…" He gasped painfully.

"No…" Silver sighed, lifting him up in the air by his chest fur. "I've got questions to ask you. We're not done just yet."

"Silver!" Knuckles called. "You can take him with you, but we have to get going and find some shelter now! We need to rest, man. My super-drink is wearing off."

"How you didn't have a cardiac arrest after the first sip is beyond me," Tails stated as he floated past the echidna.

 **There it is! An extra big chapter that'll total make up for my missing schedule, right? I hope so. So much happened in this chapter. Anyone feel bad for Catharsis? I do.**

 **Please leave a review!**

 **More to come…**


	9. Mephiles

The group of heroes had been making their way across the smoldering wasteland for a while now, hoping to come across some form of life or a cave that they could take refuge in. They hadn't come across anything yet, and since Mute, Jess and the soldiers were out of ammunition, they were useless until they could find a safe place to open a portal back home. Shock Charge and Shadow held up the front while Blizzard and Gizmo patrolled the back, looking out for anymore ambushes as they sought asylum. Silver would not let go of the newly captured prisoner, Catharsis, and was constantly grilling him the whole way.

"What do they plan to do with Blaze?" The telekinetic seethed, tightening his grip on the Anti.

"Betrayal is a word I do not possess," Catharsis hissed. "I have uttered the same sentence throughout this journey. I shall only converse with Blizzard the Cat."

"Sorry, bud, but having a convo with Edgar Allan Poe isn't on my to-do list," The frosty hero called from behind them.

"I'm surprised you even know who that is," Sally cut in, smirking.

"I'm not completely un-edu-ma-cated," He fumed, wagging his finger at her. "You remind me too much off…"

 _Freeze_ , He thought, but shook it off.

"Of?" The queen inquired. "Don't tell me your brain just got frozen over."

The cat just sulked in silence and continued walking, listening to the inventor that kept pace beside him drone on and on about various trinkets, metal machines and Italian foods.

"Don't get down and out, man," Sonic chuckled to the feline. "It's how she flirts."

The chipmunk shot her ex-boyfriend a death glare, to which he grinned and winked at her before picking up his pace and walking alongside Amy.

"I wouldn't mess with a girl who can wield a sword like that," Honey stated. "She might turn ya into a shish-ka-bob."

"Oh, I'm thinking about it," Sally muttered, rolling her eyes and deciding to change the topic before it got awkward for her. "So, Gizmo, is it? I think now would be a great time to tell us WHY you didn't stay in Mobius."

"Yes, I've been wondering that myself, actually," Shadow added in a flat tone up ahead. "Your assistance was not needed or even welcomed."

"You weren't doing too well with us there. Imagine if we hadn't shown up," Bandit hissed. "You'd be dead."

"Unlikely," Came the reply from the dark hero. "Still doesn't explain why you showed up."

A silence hung in the air as those around the wolf waited for an answer, to which he simply extended two propellers out of his wrist cuffs and soared into the air.

"I'm gonna scout ahead," He called down, flying off into the distance.

"Aaaaand another question dodged," Sonic sighed. "When're we gonna get to some shelter?"

"I don't know, but my legs are killing me," Amy complained, sitting down and rubbing her calves. "Can we take a break?"

"I'm crashing from my drink mix," Knuckles added. "I could use a breather."

The group agreed to rest for a little and then to keep going. Since they were out in the middle of nowhere, the connection back to Mobius was pitiful at best. They wouldn't be able to get any form of contact back to signal they needed the portal open. Tails' hope was that if they reached civilization, it might have some technology present that they could boost their connection with.

"Blizzard," Silver called, waiving him over to where he and the villain were. "Talk to him."

"Do I have to? I get the spooks just looking at him," The hero sighed, dragging his feet over and sitting down across from Catharsis.

"His energy is still sapped. I can sense it," The grey hedgehog stated. "He can't do anything to harm you. We need to find out what they plan to do with Blaze."

Catharsis studied the cat closely, looking him up and down with his jade green eyes, assessing his form and appearance. He then turned to Silver and did the same, taking in his figure and stance as well before nodding.

"Physical conditions are close to perfection, except for you, comrade," Catharsis stated, nodding to Blizzard. "You both should contain the ability to travel through this relatively unscathed."

"Eh, what now, Hamlet?" Blizzard asked, leaning forward.

Suddenly, the Anti thrust out both of his hands, laying one palm on Silver's head and the other on Blizzard's before making his eyes shine bright green. After a couple seconds, the heroes had scrambled over to the two and pulled the cat and hedgehog away from the villain, but when they did, the Anti's eyes shut and he collapsed. Silver and Blizzard didn't move.

The three were unconscious.

* * *

*With the three, area: unknown*

Catharsis awoke in a giant, white, cushioned box that an insane person would usually be kept. No one was with him, which he did find strange since he could sense the others near him.

"Easily arrived, easily dissipated," He muttered, thrusting out his hands and commanding the walls outward.

His surroundings collapsed around him, slowly falling to the ground and resting in the white snow, which began to eat away at the edges of the walls.

"Paper," The Anti stated.

Catharsis looked around and sighed, taking in the area. He was standing in a white, snowy tundra in front of a large base with steel walls all around it. There was a makeshift tombstone near the fortress that had been frozen over, making it hard to see who it was made out to. Walking towards the grave, he summoned a small bit of energy in his fist and hit the top of the stone, shattering the ice around the edges and causing shards to fall around him. The tombstone was made out to a Freeze the Arctic Fox, but slowly, the name crumbled off the stone to reveal a new name:

Catharsis

His feet were swiftly knocked out from under him and a figure got on top of him, gripping his chest fur and shaking him violently.

"Why'd you bring me back here?" Blizzard demanded in a shaky voice. "WHY? HOW DO YOU KNOW ABOUT THIS?"

"I know nothing of the sort, cat. Only you possess such knowledge. This is your mind," The Anti replied calmly. "The mind is a curious organ. It can be manipulated without much resistance. For instance, you fail to remember the sinkhole."

"Whatever you're on, man, I sugge—"

The cat was cut off as the ground beneath their feet began to sink into the earth. Blizzard fell off of the villain and started to run as fast as he could away from the inky black hole that was trying to swallow him up. Catharsis floated into the air and looked behind him as the fortress that was next to him which was crumbling into the pit. He turned back to look at the feline, who was losing the race against the sinkhole. Just as he was about to be swallowed up, Blizzard jumped, attempting to grab on to the ledge, but ultimately failing. The hero cried out as he began to fall into the darkness, waiting for his demise.

He hit the ground with a thud, feeling the snow around his fur. Confused and dazed, the cat sat up and looked around.

No sinkhole.

"But such events failed to occur, correct?" Catharsis said calmly. "If an idea or instance is inserted into the mind of a being, whether it was enacted or not, the scenario shall be played out. A 'what if,' instance, if you will."

Blizzard panted heavily, trying to slow his heart rate. "Why am I here? Why are YOU here, huh?"

"Every configuration of being, even a joker, has their demons. Only when you face yours will a piece of the puzzle be revealed to you," The black hedgehog replied.

"Is that why I'm here, too?" A voice from Catharsis' left called out.

Silver stood a little ways away with his hands illuminated in a light blue glow.

"So I could see that even he has weaknesses?" The hero continued, walking forward and helping his friend up. "I know he has weaknesses. Strength, brains, humor…"

"Gee, thanks," The cat muttered. "Come on. Left hook, right hook, uppercut..."

"I know we have soft spots. Everyone does. Even you, Catharsis," Silver kept going, ignoring the cryokinetic's remark.

"I shall not deny such an accusation," The villain sighed. "But his weakness is greater than others'. Look to the sky for answers."

The three looked up to find that the sky had turned bright orange with flames circling above them. A large black figure was at the center, struggling to break out of the fiery bonds that encased it.

"What the…?" Silver gawked.

"Ah, this is gonna suck," Blizzard murmured.

"You see, my counterpart, your ally here harbors a dark secret that has recently been brought to light to him, although he resists to accept his destiny and past," Catharsis continued. "He is an Anti, like myself. His true spirit and form is above us, combating the mental cage Blizzard has trapped it in. Once it breaks free, the cat shall recall who he was and accept his destiny as the destroyer of Blaze the Cat."

"I won't kill her!" The feline shot. "She's…She's helped me! I like her! She's cool. Frosty, even. We got a love-hate relationship thing. Bro and sis, kinda."

"Surely you must have realized that Blizzard's powers have been faltering, telekinetic," The dark hedgehog called. "The battle between the darkness and the light have been tampering with his abilities. If you fail to instill your trust in such circumstantial evidence, I shall further your belief."

Before the two, a scene of the cold hero and the Anti fighting side by side outside Scourge's castle was displayed. Blizzard was combating soldiers left and right while Catharsis flew forward and burst open the front door to the palace, allowing a blue hedgehog in a leather jacket to shoot in. The vision continued to play out as the two moved up to the armory of the fortress before the Anti was tossed out of the palace and an explosion filled the room.

"You see, doppelganger, his fate has been preset. It is only a matter of time before he succumbs to his true destiny," The villain boomed.

"Blizzard?" Silver questioned, turning to his friend.

The bonds of fire above them loosened a little, allowing the black figure a little wiggle room before they tightened around it again.

"I had hoped that when I went to retrieve Blaze the Cat from your grasp for Inferno and his family that I may stumble across my old friend by chance, and my theory was not disproven. The king of this fiery dimension we are currently in wanted his daughter back so he could initiate his plan to decimate your home and seize the land. Your reputation followed you, so the ruler contacted Scourge asking for assistance in return for Mobian land and the opportune offer to eliminate our counterparts. I do not care for anything other than my comrade to return to my side and for you to be utterly extinguished," The villain hissed. "You now possess my motive for this spider web we are entangled in. Do with that information what you wish, but I possess no more facts to present you."

His eyes started to glow bright green again, and the world around them began to morph and shift.

"Protect your friend or condemn him. Either way…his fate is sealed," The Anti thundered before everything went black.

* * *

*In reality*

Silver was the first to wake, then Blizzard, sitting up with a start and thrusting his glowing hands out in case of an attack that would be waiting for him when he returned. Nothing. His friends were all around him and Blizzard, trying to wake them up while Knuckles was using Catharsis as a punching bag.

"What'd you do to 'em? Huh?" The echidna fumed, hitting the unconscious villain.

"Hey! He's up!" Amy exclaimed, jogging over to the telekinetic. "Silver! Are you alright? Is everything ok? Are you hurt?"

"Fine…Fine. Just have a headache," He assured, looking over to see the cold cat slowly sitting up and rubbing his head.

"What happened?" Sonic asked, walking over and kneeling down next to him.

"We went into a dream, or…a vision, maybe? Catharsis took our subconscious there and…explained what they wanted with Blaze. The only reason Scourge and his crew have joined this Inferno guy is because they were promised some Mobian land and the opportunity to wipe us all out. They plan to use Blaze to take over Mobius as revenge for us taking her away from them, or somethin' like that," The telekinetic sighed. "Can't believe that this guy is her real father."

"Did he say anything else?" Tails questioned a few feet away. "Any other pieces of information that could help us? We're still trying to wake him, and it's not helpful that Knuckles keeps trying to flatten him."

The grey hedgehog looked over at Blizzard, who was giving him a look of plea and pain while being surrounded by Sally and Mute.

Silver slowly got up and leaned on Sonic for support. "No. That was it."

* * *

*With Prince Ash*

After he had gotten Scourge and Fiona to the medical room and had debriefed with his father, the prince made his way down to where Robotnik was stationed and opened the door.

"Prince!" The doctor exclaimed, scrambling to his feet. "Everything is complete with the suit. All that is needed is something to power it."

"And power it, we shall. Sonic and his crew have arrived, and they gave a pretty good fight against Scourge and Fiona. Both of them are in the sick bay. Scourge's face is permanently damaged from a burn caused by Shadow's boot. It made me realize that we're going to need another player in this game," Ash explained calmly, taking out a purple and black shard of crystalized rock. "The power source for this suit."

Slowly walking over to the metal robot, Ash flipped open a compartment in the chest and placed the stone in a container at the center. Upon releasing his grip, a liquid metal encased the gem, making it impossible to take out again. The suit hummed to life and once Ash closed the compartment to the chest, it sealed shut and was layered over by another sheet of metal. Green, digital eyes flickered to life on the screen above the droid's nose. The being sat up and looked around, emitting a low hum.

"Doctor Robotnik, meet M," The cat introduced with a wave of the hand.

"Ivo Robotnik," The robot said.

Eggman took a step back upon hearing his name, suddenly recalling what M had said in his mind.

 _"When I awaken, I shall call you by name, and when I do, then you will have met the only ally you truly have. Forget the past, doctor, because the pieces have already been fixed. Focus on the present, for that is all you can control. As for the future? I've handled that. In time, Ivo Robotnik."_

The metallic villain slowly turned to face Ash and hopped off the table, clenching its fists. "Please, prince, M was just an abbreviation. Call me Mephiles."

 **BWAAAAAAAA! So there you have it! The final surprise villain has been introduced! You may be wondering how he could be alive at all since the events of…*ahem*…'06 never happened. Don't worry, I have an explanation for this that I hope will make sense.**

 **Please leave a review with your thoughts!**

 **More to come…**


	10. Switching Alliances

*With Catharsis, time: unknown*

The black hedgehog let out an audible groan as he slowly lifted his head up, shaking it slightly. The journey into Blizzard's mind had taken a lot out of him. He now had almost no power let for any form of escape, and even though it seemed like his plan to change Blizzard back was rapidly speeding down the path of success, the cat hadn't embraced his Anti form yet and would not help him by any means.

The villain had no idea how long he'd been out. He was sitting, bound and gagged in a chair in a brown, clay-like room with a few lights on.

Shifting his jaw from side to side and using his tongue, the hedgehog spat out the gag after a few minutes and lurched the chair forward, crashing to the ground. Some commotion was heard from behind him, and the sound of a wooden door creaking open was the only sound he heard. Some footsteps echoed behind him before the chair was lifted into the air and placed back on the ground in the upright position. Silver walked around from behind him and plopped down in a stool a little ways away.

"Alright, what's your history with Blizzard?" The telekinetic said after a short silence.

The prisoner smirked. "Before I begin such a tale, I question the location we are presently stationed."

"Blizzard and I came to after your little mind trip. After we assured everyone we were alright, we continued our journey to wherever. After a while, Gizmo, the inventor, came back from his scouting run and lead us to this little town. People here are good. Hate the king. Let us stay here, but there's no connection for us to get back home. A kind old man let us take shelter in his home and let us tie you up in his basement," The hero explained. "Now, talk."

The villain nodded. "Moebius is my true refuge, that is true. However you and Blaze met, naturally, it was the polar opposite for Blizzard and I. We had befriended Scourge before he had been enticed by that witch Fiona, and he presented accommodates for our assistance. The memory shard you saw was during the timeline of when Scourge overthrew and killed his father, the king, seizing control over the dimension. Sadly, due to an explosive grenade a thought-deceased soldier threw, I was parted from my comrade and believed he was dead. After many years passed, the king had a conflict with your emeralds, turning him green, and he met that treacherous fox that he salivates over now."

"So how is it that he no longer remembers his past and has his Anti form chained up in his head?" The grey hedgehog demanded.

"That, like you, puzzles me. Perhaps he plummeted and made contact with his head on a blunt object, causing him to forget who he was…who he is. Whatever the manner, it is likely he disappeared, finding refuge elsewhere and starting anew. I predict that his natural instinct of destruction and killing have only surfaced due to massive quantities of the 'spending time,' as you might state, with the one being he is supposed to obliterate."

"Blaze…"

Catharsis smirked again. "One cannot fight their destiny. Just as your fate is to fall at the hands of me, his is to end the pyrokinetic."

Another silence hung in the air for a few minutes.

"Right. Destiny. Look where that's gotten you," Silver sighed, standing up. "Tied up in a chair, powerless, at the hands of your enemies. Your so-called friend, Scourge? He's abandoned you."

"He will return. I keep faith."

"Denial," The hero stated as he headed for the door. "Ya know, just because someone tells you what your fate is doesn't mean it's true."

With that, he exited the room, leaving a very confused villain.

* * *

" _A foe will fall when the mind benders meet…"_

* * *

*With Sonic*

"What'd he say?" The blue hedgehog asked as Silver walked up from the basement.

As Silver recounted what the Anti had said, Sonic kept quiet and nodded, taking the whole situation in. The telekinetic had told only him and Shadow about what happened in Blizzard's mind after the group had gotten to the city and dispersed, and the heroes promised to keep quiet until they had all the facts. That meant thoroughly questioning Blizzard, Catharsis, Scourge and even Blaze to an extent. Once that had happened, then they would sit down and explain everything and decide what to do with the cat. If he had suppressed emotions that wanted to hurt one of his teammates, friend or not, Blizzard had to go. It wasn't like he was a member of Team Sonic, after all. He and his three friends were just taking refuge in their base until they got things organized for their plan to take back the Frostbite Dimension. Sonic had known Blaze way longer than the frosty cat, and despite having a friendship, this changed things.

"So we've got this on top of rescuing Blaze. Great," The Fastest Thing Alive huffed. "While Tails tinkers with the portal device, I say we take a breather from this whole thing and focus on getting to your girlfriend."

Silver sighed and nodded, changing his expression from hardened to a goofy smirk. "Speaking of girlfriends…"

Sonic whirled around to see Amy, who was standing in the doorway with a giant smile on her face.

"Hope I'm not interrupting anything, guys, but I have to pull my hero away for a moment," She stated, laughing nervously.

Silver pushed the hedgehog in the back, making him stumble forward into Amy, causing him to scramble backward and sweatdrop as his face heated up a little.

"He's all yours, Amy," The telekinetic cheered, receiving a death glare form his blue friend for pushing him. "Have him back before dinner, though."

The pink fangirl laughed as she dragged the Blue Blur out of the house and into the streets of the small town.

"So, uh, Amy…what did you need me for?" Sonic questioned as his shoes skidded across the ground. "And could you let go of my arm? It's going numb."

She let go of her crush and turned to him with a grin. "Well, I was just thinkin' we could explore the town a little. Everyone's pretty wound up from the whole fight and vision thing, so I thought it'd be nice if the two of us just hung out! You still owe me from our botched park walk a while back."

"I thought you said you were over it!"

"Doesn't mean I'm not gonna hang it over your blue head."

Sonic rolled his eyes. "Fine, where do ya wanna go?"

"Anywhere! Doesn't matter to me," She giggled, and the two started walking down the street, making their way through the crowd of townspeople.

Along the way, they passed Knuckles, who was having a competition with one of the local bodybuilders for who could do the most pushups, Rouge, who was bartering with a local trader on some jewelry, Bandit, who was getting her knives sharpened by a blacksmith, and who Sonic thought to be Sally, walking beside a familiar blue and white cat.

"Looks like a few of the others are out as well," He stated.

"Mmhmm."

"Amy? Is everything alright?"

The girl sighed. "Yeah…It's just…I can't imagine what Silver must be going through. I mean, he was going to propose to Blaze pretty soon, and she was just taken away!"

Sonic tripped over his feet and faceplanted on the ground before quickly picking himself back up. "Propose? Like, propose for a date? Propose a suggestion for a puppy?"

Amy laughed. "No, silly! Propose as in marriage!"

"Uh, not to doubt you or anything, but how do you know this?"

"Woman's intuition."

"One of the most cliché responses ever given for a lucky guess."

"Say what you want, but I know signs when I see them! Besides, it also helps when I was going through his laundry and found the ring he accidentally left in one of his pants pockets," She sighed happily.

"Wait, Silver has clothes?"

"It's just so sad that this happened when it did!"

"Silver has pants?"

Amy ignored him again and started to skip ahead of him, humming a joyful tune along the way, making Sonic have to speed up to keep pace with her.

"Ya know, Sonic…All this talk of romance and stuff…" She began.

The hedgehog immediately knew where this conversation was headed. "Uh…heh…yeah…"

* * *

*With Sally, seven minutes earlier*

Sally was reclined in a chair outside the old man's home which they were staying at, resting from the previously strenuous fight, when a shadow came along and blocked the sun that was scorching the land. She cracked one eye open to see an icy cat standing before her with a toothy grin on his face.

"Ya know, I think we got off on a rocky start. Let's say we bury the metaphorical hatchet and start fresh, hm?" Blizzard stated. "I'm Blizzard, and you are?"

"Not interested," She finished.

She could almost hear the sound of the hero's plan crashing and burning. Shot down before he even took off.

"Oh. I thought you were gonna say under dressed."

That got her attention. Whenever somebody made a comment about her attire, she automatically went on the defensive. Sure, she may be wearing clothes a little more revealing than other girls, but she was still covered…ish. Still, she wouldn't sit here and allow some frosty feline to mock her attire.

"I struck a nerve," She heard Blizzard laugh, obviously aware of the minor vein throb in her head.

"If I agree to move on, will you leave?" She asked, sitting up.

"Nah. I wanna go walk 'n' talk. You up for it?" He asked. "I, uh, do need some advice. And since you're a queen and all, and since Sonic and the others seem to be busy, I thought you'd be…good for it?"

The chipmunk raised an eyebrow. "This isn't a date?"

"Not unless you want it to be," He replied, wiggling his eyebrows.

"What're you, twelve?" She snorted.

"On a scale of one to ten, yeah."

Sally rolled her eyes and smiled a little, which did not go unnoticed by the boy in front of her. He was like Sonic when it came to attitude, except a couple times more egotistical with a few more lame pick-up lines thrown in.

"Alright. Let's go," She huffed, standing up. "If anyone asked if we're together, I'm denying it."

As the two walked out from behind the house and into the street, they walked side by side in silence until Blizzard spoke up.

"So…If you had done something bad, or were destined to do something bad, and if anyone found out that this was to happen they'd want nothing to do with you, what would you do?" He asked.

The queen raised her eyebrows again. "Pretty loaded question."

The cat pursed his lips together and nodded. The two continued to walk for a while in silence until Sally gave her answer.

"Well, if these people were truly your…er…that person's…friends, then they would forgive them if they were truly sorry or didn't want to do it," She explained. "Shadow was like that. He thought he had to kill Sonic. Same with Silver and Blaze. They wanted to destroy him to save Silver's home dimension, but in the end, they were deceived and teamed up with him. They were forgiven, and look where they are now. Just because something happened or is going to happen that's bad, doesn't mean that people will shun you."

Blizzard nodded. "Thanks. Good advice."

"Well I am a queen."

"And from the looks of it, you're pretty good with a sword too. You were wrecking guys out there!"

"Held yourself pretty well there, Frosty," She responded.

"Aw, shucks!" He chuckled in a nerdy tone. "So, you know Sonic?"

"We dated."

"But?"

"Things just got too complicated. Parents didn't like him and the whole being a princess thing was taking up too much time, so we decided to call it off," She stated, then realized what she'd said. "Wait, why am I telling you this?"

"Maybe you trust me?" He replied, wiggling his eyebrows again.

"More like a lapse in judgement," The queen huffed. "I guess since we're on the topic, did you have anyone in your life?"

"Yep."

"And?"

"She died," He said plainly, the bricks on the road suddenly becoming ever so fascinating.

Sally mouthed "oh" as they continued to walk down the road. She saw Sonic and Amy walking together a little ways away. She had to admit, those two did make a better couple than she and Sonic ever did, but it was a matter of the Blue Blur opening himself up to her for anything to get going.

"So, uh…How's the royal life?" Blizzard asked.

The two carried a conversation for a while as they made their way around town, passing time as Tails worked on strengthening the connection to the Mobian portal. It surprised both of them how much they had in common as they learned new things about each other. Their previous remarks and love-hate relationship that had developed over the past few hours had shifted to a friendliness and respect for each other.

"So you lead a team called the Freedom Fighters?" He asked, receiving a nod. "Huh. A team of heroes that travel the universe. Cool."

The queen rolled her eyes.

"And I didn't mean to make that pun," He added.

After a few more minutes, the two made it back to the house of the kind old man where Tails was waiting.

"I've managed to create a weak signal," The genius stated. "Once everyone gets back here, we can open the portal back, but only for a few seconds."

* * *

*With Shadow, five minutes earlier*

The Ultimate Life Form opened the door that led down to the basement of the old house and walked downstairs, entering the room where Catharsis was being held captive with his back to the door.

"Shadow," The villain said calmly.

As the hero made his way into the hedgehog's line of sight, Shadow studied the prisoner carefully. He was still bearing the battle wounds from earlier and he still looked tired, but Catharsis was ultimately calm and showed no sign of panic or fear.

"Your telekinetic abilities—"

"—informed me of your presence, yes," The Anti finished, cutting off the hero. "I also possess knowledge of why you're here. I must refuse such an offer, and I am surprised on a miniscule scale that you would attempt such a preposterous action."

"Having you on our side—especially since you've been inside Inferno's fortress—would be extremely beneficial to us. A tactical advantage," The Ultimate Life Form explained. "And even though I'd much rather give you free plastic surgery with my fists, you'd be an important asset."

"You have informed me of the benefits your team would acquire with my assistance, hedgehog. I have yet to hear evidence that would appeal to myself."

The Ultimate Life Form sighed. "I could reduce your sentence greatly."

Catharsis snorted.

Shadow narrowed his eyes. It was clear that jail time was something the villain didn't fear, and it seemed that if Inferno's plan succeeded, he wouldn't be in jail anyway. There'd be no Mobius. He decided that revenge was the best strategy to go in this case.

"I know what you want. Deep down, you want revenge against…Fiona? No. Scourge?" Shadow paused, studying his captive. "That's it. You hate Scourge. For ignoring you. Leaving you to our mercy. You want payback."

"The idea of harming my friend, my king, is utter blasphemy."

The hedgehog spat on the ground and made his voice more forceful, becoming slightly agitated at the Anti's lack of cooperation.

"No…Stop kidding yourself. You wanna pummel his face in until your fist comes out the other side. He blew off your friendship for Fiona, leaving you and Blizzard to rot. You blame him for Blizzard's disappearance, and…hate him for not caring when he was gone. You rage at the fact that he no longer stands to fight at your side even though you fight at his."

Catharsis scowled. "Your words are hollow. How can you hope to convince an Anti to change allegiances?"

The Ultimate Life Form walked forward and brought his face closer to the telekinetic's. "You hate it. The way people look at you. They see a freak and a monster. You want applause and glory, right? You think killing Silver will bring you that? Your destiny will be fulfilled and your life will be fantastic? Your destiny is a joke. You want respect and acknowledgement? The only way you're getting that is if you're a hero, which you're far from."

"The people of Moebius respect my talents."

"Bull. You know they look at you with fear and hate. If you were in distress, they'd join in to help your downfall, not help you. Do you want that? Huh? If you want respect and a chance to put Scourge in his place, the only way you can do that is if you switch sides. That green king of yours will undermine you without a second thought if that means he gets what he wants. He and Fiona. They are an evil that MUST. BE. STOPPED."

The Anti was inhaling and exhaling deeply now, shaking slightly and glaring at Shadow. If he fought alongside the heroes for this one time, he would destroy any alliance and friendship that was left between him and Scourge, and he'd surely become wanted for treason in Moebius. However, he could also get closer to Blizzard and try to convert him back to his Anti side. After that, they could fade away from the heroes and travel across the dimensions, causing havoc like old times. Plus, vengeance against Scourge was long overdue. Catharsis was tired of being walked over like a piece of litter.

He had to admit…Shadow had a way with words. It was a wonder why he was usually quiet.

"I shall help you just this once, hedgehog. After this, I desire peace from the life of hero and villain," The telekinetic sighed.

"Well in that case…" Shadow huffed, pulling out a pocket knife and cutting the bonds that held the hedgehog in place. "…We have some work to do."

* * *

*With Blaze, ten minutes earlier*

After a little while, Blaze was summoned for her trials and was lead down through the palace by a few guards. She had come to learn that the soldiers were called pyromaniacs, and were controlled by a scepter that Inferno always kept with him. The beings had no soul or feeling, but knew various combat styles and obeyed the king's and Ash's every command.

The hero was led down various hallways and paths, observing various paintings and decorations along the way. The palace was packed with fancy objects that made the feeling of royalty stronger. The sheer size of the castle was enough to instill a feeling of authority in anyone, but the inside of the home of Inferno was overkill.

Eventually, Blaze walked through a bronze door and into the main chamber where the king, Ash, Solar and Ember waited along with a few other pyromaniacs. The three offspring of Inferno were dressed in sparring clothes and looked eager to test their abilities.

"Ah! Dear daughter! Welcome. I hope you are well prepared for your three fights. I trust everything was to your liking. Whatever you asked for was delivered, yes?" The dictator questioned.

"Yes. It was…nice. Thank you," Blaze replied kindly.

"No thanks necessary," The king chuckled, holding up a palm. "Now, your three opponents will be my three children here. Solar shall be first, then Ash and finally, Ember. Each provides a unique and different challenge for your powers. If you are ready, we shall begin."

The pyrokinetic nodded and walked onto a large mat at the center of the room, followed by Solar, and some glass came down from the ceiling, trapping the two inside.

"Protective measures, dear child!" Inferno called. "We don't want any of your flaming abilities to scorch any equipment! If either wishes to admit defeat, tap the mat!"

"I hope you do well!" Solar cheered, clapping her hands. "I mean, I wanna do well too, but I hope you do just as good."

"BEGIN!" The ruler thundered.

 **Alright! An actiony chapter is coming up next! Hope you guys are ready for that! I know this story has been set up so far, but that's because there's a lot of things to set up since there're SO many characters. Besides, it IS a three part finale after all.**

 **ATTENTION: Review, please!**

 **More to come…**


	11. Author's Note: RKO My Laptop

**Hey guys! Sorry for the unannounced hiatus with the story, but I had finals studying to do…although from the looks of my grades on those, studying didn't help much. Anyway, I'm back and here's the long chapter I had slowly prepared while I was away! Let me load it up now.**

 **Laptop:** **"That's a nice chapter you have there."**

 **Huh?**

 **Laptop:** **"It'd be a shame if something…"**

 **No.**

 **Laptop:** **"…Happened to it." *Deletes***

…

…

 **AH COME ON, MAN! WHY YOU DO DIS?**

 **So, heh heh, funny story, guys. My laptop decided that it'd be a good idea to lose track of my story file when I updated it to Windows 10, so the extra-long chapter I had written with action and SonAmy bits…It gone. It gone forever. So guess what? I'm gonna have to write it all over again, so this next Saturday, for me, anyway (don't know when it is in other parts of the world), I'm gonna upload that chapter and NOT have my laptop troll me. I'm on winter break right now, so I'll have plenty of time to write it.**

 **In the meantime, if you wanna read some cool stories, TheHedgehogTrio has some good stuff as well as Zgirl101 and 2000Aerobars. They my bros. My homies. Check 'em out. Also, Blazing Bright Streak of Light (or Streaker, as I say) has a few chapters of a promising story she's working on. Her sister Snowy Meadow of Starlight has the same instance. Check those guys out if ya want!**

 **Crowd:** **"That's cool and we'll probably check those out, but what about you? What if we want to read some of your stuff?"**

 **Chillax, my peeps (I'm so nerdy lol), I got you. If you have an interest in the Kung Fu Panda movies (since the new one is coming out in January. Looks promising too lol), I've written some stories in that fandom that might be of interest. Want something a little different that pertains to Sonic? Well, I've been working on some rap battles that pair Sonic characters and my OCs (Blizzard, Mute, etc.) against Kung Fu Panda characters and one of my OCs (my first two fandoms going head-to-head). That's based off of the popular Epic Rap Battles channel on YouTube, and be warned, there is some language and it's rated T, but no racial slurs or F-bombs. What about something more serious and actiony (Don't think that's a word. Laptop says no, but I'm not on good terms with it right now -_-)? I'm writing a story in the Teen Titans (the original, not Teen Titans Go. Ugh. Not my show) about the character Red X. He's basically a thief who made two appearances in the entire show, and nobody found out who he was. I've gone IN on that story, providing descriptive stuff, cool action sequences so far and I've made it LACED with references to the actual DC universe (Seriously. There's even an instance where a phone number is listed, being that the area code is that of New York, where the city is supposedly located, then the issue number the first appearance of who everyone believes Red X really is, and then the last four digits are the year it was released. Like, I went IN one the hidden references and all). Check that out, too! It's been going great.**

 **Alright. I'm gonna go beat up my laptop and get ready to go Christmas shopping with the bae (and I use that in a joking way. I can't stand it when people say "bae" in a serious manner. It's weird in my opinion, but if you do that, more power to ya).**

 **So if you're reading this on July 1** **st** **, July 4** **th** **, October 31** **st** **, November 27** **th** **, December 16** **th** **, December 25** **th** **, January 26** **th** **, February 14** **th** **, February 16** **th** **or April 15** **th** **… Then Happy Canada Day, Happy Independence Day, Happy Halloween, Happy Thanksgiving (in the U.S.A.), Happy Hanukkah, Merry Christmas, Happy Kwanzaa, Happy New Year, Happy Australia Day, Happy Valentine's Day, Happy Anniversary of Happy Gilmore and Happy Easter. If I missed any other holiday, forgive me, but I'm not a walking Wikipedia. In general, Happy Holidays around the globe, all year long, and if you're reading this on your birthday, then Happy Birthday to you.**

 **More to come…**


	12. The Odds are Stacked

**WARNING: LONG CHAPTER AHEAD!**

 **Guess what's back? Bum, bum! Back again! Bum, bum! The chapter's back! Bum, bum! Tell a friend!**

 **After much finger pain from my furious typing, I was able to recreate this beast and make it pretty much like the one before (bad memory. Oopsie).**

 **So I've never said this before since I've never had to, but considering a recent discussion where a reader/user thought I had connections to the people who made the Open Season movies (never wrote anything in that fandom, so how he reached me, eehhh?), I thought I should put this out there. I, in no way, have ANY connections to ANY form of book, movie, game, show, etc. Nothing is mine except the storyline and the OCs I put in, which can be found with character bios on my account.**

 **Moving on to this chapter. If you enjoy some Blaze butt-kicking and she's your favorite or one of your favorite characters, then is this the chapter for you. This is gonna be HUGE, because I have to do those types of scenes as well as set up a cliffhanger (not really a spoiler since I do it practically every chapter. It's a matter of what it will be about) and set up some ships. Yes, that means there will be SonAmy, Shadow vs. Knuckles for Rouge (I know people like both, so I'm pinning a rivalry lol), no Silvaze due to Blaze being away from Silver (they're already dating and he's planning on asking her to be his wife. What more do ya want right now?), Blizzard x you'll see, Gizmo x you'll see, Shock Charge x you'll see, light Mute x Jess, and Bandit x you'll see. So all in all, when it comes to shipping…you'll see. Just make a mental note that I'm furthering the series while moving closer to the end of this story. There are a fair amount of OCs, being both villains and heroes, and I'm trying to expand on their characters without focusing too much on them and trying to keep the light on Sonic and the gang, so there WILL be a lot of shifting viewpoints so that everyone gets their time to shine.**

 **Enjoy!**

*With Rouge, real time*

After she had gotten back from bartering with the town jeweler, getting nowhere near the price she wanted for a necklace so she could sell it at a higher price, the bat made her way back to the muddy, scrappy home of the feeble old man that the group was temporarily taking refuge at. She was first greeted by Tails when she arrived.

"Rouge! Glad I caught you," The boy genius cheered. "I finally got a small teleporter up and running, so when everyone gets back, we're gonna send Elias' soldiers back through. It's a weak signal, but this way we don't have to worry about their safety as well as ours."

The ex-thief smirked and rubbed the fox's hair on his head. "Sounds nice, fun size. I'm gonna go sit and take a load off. Been standing on my feet for a while now."

Miles nodded before jogging off, and Rouge made her way closer to the house when she was diverted by Shadow. The black hedgehog cleared his throat and beckoned her over to a wooden picnic table, where he was messing with his G.U.N. pistol. Sitting down, the hero studied her partner, waiting for him to speak.

"I've gotten under Catharsis' skin. Switched him to our side for now," The Ultimate Life Form muttered, looking around for anyone eavesdropping.

"What?" She hissed. "How'd you do that? He's an Anti. They don't change their minds about anything."

Shadow nodded grimly. "Obviously, but he also has bad blood towards Fiona and Scourge, and I've promised him retribution against those two when we get in, and I've formed a plan to get us into Inferno's stronghold."

"And?"

"I'll tell you when we all meet up after Tails sends the soldiers back through the portal. I'm gonna need your support on this. Sonic and Silver aren't gonna trust him and fight me on this, but I need you to back my decision up."

Rouge sighed. "I can't back you up if you don't tell me your plan, Shadow."

The dark hero blew air out of his nose. "Fine. Remember how we got into the Frostbite Dimension when we helped Blizzard?"

She did remember. They pretended to be prisoners of the icy cat's so they could infiltrate the headquarters of the council members, which ruled the land with ruthlessness. Same tactic, but different climate.

The bat nodded.

"That's how," Shadow murmured. "Scourge doesn't know of Catharsis' resentment towards him, so he'll let him in when he sees him."

The ex-thief said she understood and started to make her way towards the door to the house when her friend called out again.

"Rouge, things are gonna get hectic after everything breaks out, so I'm gonna need you to stick by me while I create a distraction for the guards. Can't let anything bad happen to you or the others while this is going on."

The girl nodded for the third time before walking into the house and letting the door shut behind her. Rubbing her eyes, she walked over to a cushy chair and sat down, breathing out a sigh of relief. After a moment, Knuckles walked in and looked at her with a bit of surprise. He was out of breath.

"Oh…Rouge…" He panted, wiping sweat from his brow. "Didn't…know you…were back…"

The bat raised an eyebrow. "And where have you been that's made you so hot and sweaty, Knucklehead? Well, more than usual anyway."

The echidna turned redder than he already was and flopped down on the couch I the room. "Shut…up…I was in a…push-up…contest…Obviously, I…won…"

"You? Winning? That'd be a first."

"Coming from an ex-thief who's plans of stealing the Master Emerald would get thwarted by me."

"Oh, Knucky, the only reason I let you win those fights was so I'd have an excuse to come back and see you," She flirted jokingly, smirking as the echidna suddenly started coughing violently.

"I'm gonna get water," He finally said after he stopped coughing, standing up and walking into the kitchen, turning on the faucet and filling up a cup.

Rouge heard him turn the water off and taking a big gulp before a cry of surprise and pain sounded from the kitchen, which made her roll her eyes and shake her head.

"WHY IS THIS WATER HOT?" He shouted, neglecting the fact they were in a fiery dimension.

* * *

*With Shock Charge, five minutes earlier*

The cousin of Tikal had been sitting in silence with Honey and Dash for the past ten minutes while Gizmo helped Tails establish a connection back to Mobius and Mute and Jess got weapons from the local blacksmith. Bandit, the raccoon, had gone with them to get her knives sharpened and polished.

 _Weird girl. Why do these people put up with her? Seems like she'd love to shank them at the first chance she got._

"Well, I'm gonna see how Gizmo is holding up. See how much longer he'll be," Honey stated, standing up and walking out of the room, leaving him and the cheetah girl.

Dash pulled out her MP3 and put one earbud into her ear before finding a song and bobbing her head to the beat. Shock Charge heard the tune and recognized the song and started to mutter the words to it.

"I come around like what goes around.

What goes up must come down.

Anyone who comes up must go down.

Might as well go for the gusto now!"

Dash looked up and smiled, happy now that she had her music playing. "You know this?"

"Rock and rap are my kind of songs. I know songs from those genres from lots of dimensions, including earth. Despicable, by Eminem. Listen to some of his stuff to work out to," The orange and black echidna replied. "I may have been trapped with my cousin while our outdated clan teetered on the brink of extinction, but that didn't mean I wasn't gonna get caught up on the music when we came back."

"Hold on, buddy," She said, sitting up. "Clan? Trapped? Extinction? Where exactly do you come from?"

"The Knuckles Clan. We were almost wiped out by many factors. My uncle, Chief Pachacamac, was a warlord who wanted to steal these things called Chaos Emeralds and the Master Emerald, which is apparently what Knuckles guards now. This pure form of chaos—we weren't creative with what name to give it, so we called it Chaos—went on a rampage after my uncle tried to control it, so Tikal sealed the thing away along with herself. After she was gone and my uncle was thwarted, this group called the Nocturnus Clan invaded with their high-tech weaponry and started to wipe us all out. Most were killed, but some escaped and went into hiding. I tried to free my cousin so she could help us, using my lightning to strike the Master Emerald, but when I did, I got sealed in there myself. My clan was all but defeated, and a creation of the Nocturnus Clan turned on them and locked them away in the Twilight Cage—an inky black dimension in constant limbo," Shock Charge explained, giving the whole story of his past. "After both of us were freed by my later-captor Ivo Robotnik, I was transported to a reclusive spot in Mobius where I wandered around until I found Tikal and the descendants of our tribe years later. I was captured by Robotnik and used as an energy source before the grey girl hedgehog freed me. I've been with them ever since."

Dash's eyes were the size of golf balls. "My story is nowhere near as cool. What was it like living in the clan?"

"Boring. We had competitions to see who was the toughest, and I'd always come in second. Knuckles' great-great-great…well, a lot of greats…grandfather was the best of the best. He was one of the lucky ones that survived. I was, uh, would you say, banned from the competitions after I…fought too hard against an opponent."

The cheetah smirked. "Macho man got too macho."

"Heh. Wouldn't say that I'm macho."

"Nothing to be ashamed of."

"I know I'm strong. I prefer rugged. What's your deal?"

Dash sat up. "Not many cheetahs in Mobius. I was born naturally fast."

The echidna raised an eyebrow. "What made you become a hero?"

"I'm not really a big hero like Sonic. He's probably got an interesting origin story. My dad was a criminal and my mom would look after me while he was away, which was a lot. Never liked him that much. My mom used to sing me to sleep, so that's why I like music. Any kind, really," The girl sighed, fiddling with her other earbud.

"Is that why you're nervous and shy when you aren't listening to music?"

"Huh?"

"I asked if that's why you always listened to music."

"Yeah. Weird, right?"

Shock Charge snorted. "I'm an ancient echidna with the ability to control electricity. Nobody can touch me without getting shocked unless my powers are all but drained. Your weird is my normal."

"Uh huh. Sure."

The hero sniffed. "Listen, girl, everyone has their issues and quirks. You think some young adults that are better than government assassins or a cat that can control ice are normal? You think anyone around you is normal? A cat that can Falcon Punch someone, a thief that loves stabbing people or a young, super-smart wolf? Among us, you're normal."

The cheetah smiled and leaned forward with an outstretched hand. "Dash the Cheetah."

The electric echidna did the same. "I know. Shock Charge the Echidna."

"I know."

The cousin of Tikal noticed something while they were shaking hands. "You're not injured from my electricity?"

Dash shrugged and smirked. "I can take it."

* * *

*With Bandit*

After she returned from getting her blades sharpened, the raccoon looked all around her before opening the door in the house that led to the basement and shut it behind her. She wanted to know more about their prisoner. She still was curious about him. Creeping down the steps, she came to another door at the bottom and slowly opened it to see the black hedgehog floating in midair with his legs crossed and his eyes shut, deep in meditation.

Quickly slinging her knives out from the cuffs around her wrists, Bandit grabbed the ends and crept forward, unsure what the prisoner was planning.

"You may sheath your blades, thief," Catharsis stated without opening his eyes. "If I wanted to flee or cause you harm, I would have enacted such a plot earlier."

"How'd you get out of your bonds?" She demanded, eyeing him.

"You shall be enlightened when the intelligent fox describes the next phase in his elaborate method for getting their ally back," The hedgehog responded simply. "I sense trust is something you do not possess for any being."

"You could say I have trust issues," The girl muttered, slowly putting her daggers away.

"Why is that?"

"None of your business."

Catharsis' eyes snapped open, boring his jade green eyes into her, but not with ferocity and anger like he did with the others. Instead, it was curiosity and…pity? Bandit couldn't tell.

"You desire to know my motives for my actions, however I long for the reason as to why you are bound to the party you are in now. Your personality clashes with the other members."

"I'm with them so I don't go to prison."

"You had the opportunity to leave them many times. Exit the team and travel far away."

"What can I say? These suckers'll die without me."

The black telekinetic smirked. "You commit petty acts of heroism. No danger is present. You, Bandit the Raccoon, are curious to me. What I would throw away to inspect you conscious. You are no villain or Anti, but no hero."

"I'm just looking out for myself."

"You have an unofficial sibling relationship with the wolf. Gizmo, was it?"

The thief scowled. "How do you know all this about me?"

"Because unlike the others, I find you most fascinating. Will you ever let anyone in?"

"Don't plan to."

The Anti-Silver broke his meditation posture and planted his feet on the ground, walking over towards her. He walked around her a few times and studied her posture and tools. Stopping in front of her, Catharsis placed his hands on her shoulders and sighed.

"Yes. You are curious. Such pain in your childhood, I sense. Betrayal and loneliness," He stated.

"I was given a hand of cards that were all bad. My future was set in stone from the moment I could walk," She replied bitterly, shrugging off his hands. "I don't need your sympathy."

"None was given. You speak of destiny. Yes, I know about that. Although it is being called into question, I know a great deal about such a topic."

The raccoon twisted her face and turned to walk out of the room. "You don't know anything about me."

As she walked opened the door and started to walk up the steps, she heard the Anti say one last thing.

"You speak truth, however no being can if you allow none to learn about you."

* * *

*With Sonic and Amy, real time*

Once everyone got back together, Tails explained his plan to send the soldiers back to Mobius.

"I've managed to create a weak signal back to Mobius with the help of Gizmo…" Tails stated, motioning towards the wolf, who in turn gave a smile with his tongue hanging out and a fist pump. "…but it'll only last about twenty seconds. Not long enough to get more ammunition. Sorry Mute. Sorry Jess."

"No worries, Tails. We've got some swords and spears to defend ourselves," Jess laughed, and Mute nodded. "They won't know what hit 'em."

"We'll send Elias' guards back through so we don't have to worry about any more casualties, and then apparently Shadow has a good plan to get us into Inferno's stronghold to rescue Blaze," Miles finished.

"Shadow? Good plan? Didn't think you could make a sentence with those two," Sonic chuckled, receiving a punch in the arm from Amy and a death glare from the Ultimate Life Form.

Taking out a small tablet, the fox allowed Gizmo to sync his technology to the piece of hardware. Once that was done, Tails punched the screen a few times with his fingers and then a purple beam shot out the back of the tablet, creating a moderately sized wormhole on the wall. The soldiers gave them a salute before walking through. Seconds after the last trooper entered the teleporter, the beam flickered and died, closing the rift. With the portal closed, Shadow began his description of his plan.

After he finished explaining his idea and verbally fighting Sonic and Silver on the matter with the assistance of Rouge, he stepped to the side to reveal Catharsis walking out of the basement with a serious expression on his face. Although there was an uncomfortable silence among the group, the Ultimate Life Form's plan seemed sound, so no one objected…except a loud groan from Blizzard and the stink eye from Bandit and Silver.

"If anyone has a problem with my plan to get in, they can give their idea of a better one and then stuff it," The dark hero seethed, turning to Catharsis. "Anything that deviates from what we agreed on, and I'm putting you in the ground."

The Anti-Silver raised his eyebrows and smirked, nodding.

"If we're all ready, then, I suggest we start moving. Now," Shadow huffed.

* * *

*With Blaze, twenty minutes earlier, in Inferno's castle*

After Inferno started the match, Solar was the first to make her move. The sister of the pyrokinetic rushed towards Blaze with fiery fists, swinging at Blaze's head and chest, to which the cat dodged all attacks with ease. Blocking a left hook with her wrist, the Mobian kicked Solar back and erupted a pillar of fire underneath Blaze's foe, encasing Inferno's daughter completely. When the fire died down, Solar was standing unharmed, but with an excited look on her face.

"That was so cool!" She cheered, clapping.

"SOLAR!" Inferno roared, snapping his daughter out of her happiness.

"Right! Focused! Got it!" She assured herself before charging at Blaze once more.

The hero barrel rolled to her left and flipped over her sister, sending a swift punch to the chest and knocking the legs out from under her opponent once she landed. Blaze ran to the far side of the mat and did a sharp turn, jumping in the air and running on the wall towards Solar, who was slowly getting back up. Once she was close enough, the pyrokinetic leaped off the wall and sent a downward punch to the face before thrusting her foot backward and kicking her sister in the jaw. Solar stumbled backward, allowing Blaze enough time to lift her hand upward, commanding a wall of fire to rise in front of her. Thrusting her arm forward, the wall shot away from her, slamming into the opposing feline and knocking her to the floor. Blaze clenched her fists and rose them upward, which in turn made a ring of fire rise from the ground as the hero walked forward. When the cat reached the almost beaten Solar, she kicked her in the side before rolling the daughter of the dictator over on her back, twisting her right arm back and digging her knee into Solar's lower spine.

"Owie!" The girl cried out, sniffing in pain before tapping the mat.

Blaze let go and allowed her sister to stand up as the plastic walls rose from around them.

"You're good…" Solar complimented with a pained smile before slowly walking off the mat and out of the combat room.

"Impressive, Blaze! An adequate demonstration of your abilities! Are you ready for your next challenge?" The king thundered, to which Blaze nodded. "Very well. Ash, step forward."

The prince walked onto the mat and faced his sister as the plastic walls descended once more. He drew his dual wield pistols and clicked the safeties off, nodding at Blaze.

"I'll aim for non-vital areas. Clean shots," He stated. "I'm not firing blanks."

"BEGIN!" Inferno commanded, and the match started.

Before Blaze could even dodge, Ash quickly sent a barrage of bullets hurtling towards her with amazing precision. The purple cat held her palms out in front of her, creating a shield of fire and blocking most of the shots, but gasped when one managed to hit her in the shoulder. The prince emptied the shells from his weapons and swiftly loaded another case in each cylinder, snapping them back in place and cocking the revolvers.

Cringing due to her injured shoulder, Blaze spun in a circle and sent a fiery hex in every direction before shooting a stream of flames towards her enemy. The prince let the blast hit him, which made him slide backwards, but not hurting him. He being the son of the pyrokinetic made him as well as his siblings immune to fire. The force of the blast could do damage, but the fire itself would do nothing. The pyrokinetic ran towards the prince and flip kicked him into the air before grabbing his ankles and slamming him to the floor.

Ash grunted and twirled the gun around so he was holding the muzzle before batting Blaze across the face with the butt of the gun, distracting her and allowing him to push her off of him with his foot. Rolling backwards, Inferno's son got to his feet and pointed both revolvers at the hero and firing once more. The Mobian's palms ignited in fire, burning so hot that when she blocked each bullet, the shot would immediately melt into a pool of iron on the ground.

The prince snapped open the chambers to his pistols, beginning the process of reloading once more, which gave Blaze the opportunity to strike. She rushed Ash before he could snap his fully loaded pistol chambers back into place, but Ash was ready. The prince blocked her attacks from all directions, backing up as she pressed forward. Blaze brought both of her flaming fists down upon Ash, to which he blocked with his forearms by crossing his arms as a shield. Thrusting them outward, he deflected the attacks before spinning on his heel and kicking her across the cheek, Ash forced the pyrokinetic backwards before snapping the pistol chambers back into place and firing two more shots into her opposite shoulder and one in her thigh. Blaze cried out in pain before she fell to the ground, glaring at the prince.

"Relax, sister. Clean shots. Through and through with no vitals hit. Just enough to incapacitate you," The prince explained.

"I'm not…incapacitated…" The purple cat panted, swiftly thrusting her hands upward and blocking Ash's vision with a circle of fire.

Random shots were fired in every direction as the general growled in anger at Blaze's trick. Seizing the opportunity, the hero attacked the prince from every direction. After several punches from every angle, she knocked the pistols from Ash's hands and grabbed them once they hit the ground. The Mobian aimed low and fired multiple times until she heard a thump. After that, Blaze tossed the pistols aside and commanded the fire to die down, revealing Ash, who was on the ground, groaning in pain and holding his legs in pain. Tapping the mat, the plastic container was lifted and two guards helped the prince off the mat.

"A very nice trick, dear daughter," Inferno exclaimed. "Brute force for Solar and trickery for Ash, but I'm afraid you cannot continue. Your injuries are too great. Guards, please ta—"

"—No. I can… I can still fight. I've had worse," The hero panted. "I can show you."

The dictator carefully stroked his chin while he thought, then nodded. "Very well, but the match will stop if either you or I command it to. I will not have you severely injured when we return you to your friends. They might think my abused or tortured you. I simply won't have a war founded on misunderstanding and stubbornness."

Blaze limped over to the mat once more along with Ember, and when the container closed around them once more, Inferno's daughter gave a smirk.

"Your choice is admirable, but dumb. Don't expect I'll go easy on you," Her sister stated, cracking her knuckles.

"BEGIN!"

Blaze immediately rose her hands in the air, forcing a wall of fire to shoot up from the ground, separating the two felines. That didn't stop Ember. The daughter of Inferno slowly walked through the fire and stood in front of the hero with her arms crossed. The pyrokinetic sent a weak punch, due to her shoulder, at her opponent, but Ember caught Blaze's fist in her palm and backhanded the Mobian across the face. The girlfriend of Silver crumpled to the floor and struggled to breath when her opponents knee found its way to her windpipe. Ember placed her palm over Blaze's red circle in the middle of her forehead and ignited her hand in flames.

"Welcome to the family, sis," The daughter of Inferno stated as Blaze's eyes and mouth emitted a bright white light.

When Ember removed her palm and the glow from the hero died and the pyrokinetic went unconscious.

* * *

*With Inferno*

Everything went exactly as he'd planned. Send in Solar to weaken Blaze's power, then Ash to wound the cat to the point where she could be easily defeated, and then Ember to finish the job. She had successfully super-charged Blaze's power source, and by doing that, the cat could by easily manipulated, influenced and swayed to his side. Her attitude would become aggressive and violent, like Ember's.

Ember was the only one in which Inferno was able to super-charge her power source. Ash's symbol was defected at birth, so it took vigorous training and discipline in order to warp him into the super-soldier and general he was today. His first attempt at super-charging one of his kids had been Solar, and he'd messed that up. That's why she was the happiest and peppiest one of the lot. Super-charging was a one-shot deal, and he'd failed with her.

Commanding the container to be lifted, the ruler watched as Ember carried Blaze out in her arms.

"Take her to the medicinal area to get her bullet wounds patched up. When she awakens, let me know so I can talk to her," Inferno demanded, to which his daughter nodded and walked off. "And send for Scourge and M!"

* * *

*Real time*

The king turned around when he heard the door open behind him. An android and the green hedgehog walked in and stood side by side in front of him.

Scourge was still healing from Shadow's rocket boot to the face. Most of his head had been damaged from the burn—about three quarters. The upper right portion of his face was fine, but the rest was bandaged in white gauze with a metal skull faceplate covering his burns and bandages. Only his left, bright blue eye was able to be seen through the faceplate.

"You wanted to see us?" Scourge said with malice.

"You two along with Ash shall rally the soldiers. Once I persuade my daughter to join us, she will lead us into the invasion of Mobius. I will have more land, Scourge, you will have your vengeance against your counterparts, and M—"

"Mephiles," The robot corrected. "That is my name."

"Very well, Mephiles. You will have your wish as well."

The droid clasped his metallic hands together and let out what the two villains thought to be a sigh. "The Nocturnus Tower."

"What mystic mumbo-jumbo is in Mobius now?" Scourge complained. "That dimension is rich with that stuff. How come I've never heard of this thing?"

"Because you were not alive when it was made, hedgehog. The Nocturnus Clan was an ancient army that was on a path of great conquest centuries ago. As to why I want it, it's none of your business," Mephiles spat, then turned to Inferno. "We'll get them ready."

* * *

*With Sonic and the others, outside Inferno's palace*

"Alright. So everyone knows where they're going?" Sonic asked.

Gizmo, Blizzard and Silver raised their hands.

"No," The three said in unison.

The Blue Blur rolled his eyes. "Fine. One more time since the plot demands it and obviously everyone would be lost if I didn't restate what we're doing in specific detail. Tails and Gizmo are going to the teleporter and sync it up to Mobius while Shadow, Rouge, Shock Charge, Honey, Sally and Dash create distractions around the castle. Silver and Blizzard will go get Blaze. I'll take on Scourge while Amy and Jess fight Fiona. Knuckles, you can have fun pounding some of Inferno's guards. Mute and Bandit can get rid of any weapons Scourge brought in from Moebius. Catharsis…I guess…you wanna help me fight Scourge?"

The black telekinetic smirked. "Nothing would pleasure my persona more."

"Alright, then. Let's get to it," Sonic exclaimed, clapping his hands together.

 **OOOOHHHH MY GOODNESS MY FINGERS!**

 **You know how long that was? Now I have to go back and edit this after I post this, because you can bet there're gonna be things that can either flow more smoothly or that I think I can improve on. BOY!**

 **Hope you all had a Happy Holidays and how about giving me a nice Christmas present and leaving a review, huh? Please?**

 **More to come…**


	13. AN: New Idea

**Everyone:** **"You're upload schedule sucks! You haven't updated in weeks!"**

 **Yes, yes. I know. I've got a lot of stuff on my plate, though. Got school along with indoor track and setting myself up for college, so things have been pretty hectic. Not to worry, though. I will continue shortly.**

 **Also, a note to any people who read my KFP stuff, I've read your guys' reviews and I'm pretty surprised people are still looking forward for it to continue. Didn't think many cared or followed. I never had an intention to stop the series after part one of the finale (I'm not that mean lol). Once I get everything taken care of here, I'll start on part two called** **KFP Next Gen Finale (Part 2 of 3): Nation of Evil** **. Hope that title tides you over for now :)**

 **Now, I also have an idea for this fandom as well. I'm super geeked about the movie Suicide Squad coming out, and that got me thinking about my stories. I really want to have a small break between the end of this series and the beginning of the short, follow-up series that I plan to do, so I had an idea for a story. This would be a story that WOULD NOT TAKE PLACE IN THE UNIVERSE OF THE SONIC LEGENDS SERIES. So, in a way, this is an AU compared to my Sonic Legends stories. It would be called "The Evil Eight" or something like that (if you have a better idea for a name, please let me know. My ideas for the name of this suck). Basically, the government would pull together eight villains into one team and use them to fight against another villain, being Doctor Finitevus (if you don't know who he is, look him up if ya want). The team would be as follows (and they're set up mostly like the Sonic team in one way or another):**

 **Scourge = Sonic's place**

 **Ivo Robotnik (Eggman) = Tails' place**

 **Enerjak = Knuckles' place**

 **Fiona Fox = Amy's place**

 **Mephiles (rock form) = Shadow's place**

 **Nazo = Silver's place **Note: Again, Nazo exists, but nothing is known about him, so his personality, powers and backstory are up to me. Trust me, though. Have I ever let you down before? Don't answer that****

 **Lord Hood = Blaze's place **Note: There really wasn't any fire wielder that isn't OP, dead or that pertains to Blaze, so I picked a villain that's tough, but not OP and can contribute something to the team****

 **Nic the Weasel = Rouge's place**

 **AGAIN! If you don't know who someone is, look them up. I'm personally excited about making the personality of Enerjak (mostly because I've already introduced everyone except Nic. And no, I'm not introducing Nic in the Sonic Legends series).**

 **So there it is! If you like the idea, let me know in the reviews! Judging by what responses I get, I'll either choose to make the story or not. Also, please give me ideas for story names. I suck at story names.**

 **More to come…**


	14. Spill the Metaphorical Beans

**A wild author has appeared! Author uses apology. It does nothing. Readers use maul and maim. It's super effective! Author has fainted.**

 **Alright, so excuses, excuses, reasoning. Blah blah track and college. Busy schedule and all that stuff you've heard a thousand times and frankly don't care about. I've decided to abolish my update schedule (although I'm pretty sure it abolished itself). From now on it'll be random updates like all the stories before (but I will post on weekends. Pinky promise). Those who don't have accounts will just have to check in if they want to read the latest chapter and those who favorite/follow the story and/or PM me will receive a heads-up when a new chapter is posted.**

 **If you don't have an account? Why not? It's free. Just use some junk email like I do. Then you can PM others and upload your own stories. Believe me, I thought mine would suck and my non-canon characters would get shot down to "OC Hell," but I took a gamble and look what came of it. You'd be surprised how many nice people are on the site that'll give you friendly feedback. There aren't many douches (although I've encountered those too. Those who hate my stories but can't give a valid reason when I ask them why).**

 **ANYWAY…Let's jump right back in.**

As Sonic and the others dangled in the air, pretending to be unconscious and allowing Catharsis to bring them inside using his telekinesis, worry started creeping into their heads. They were going in blind, so they had no idea what the layout would look like. Finding their way around would be an issue. What enemies would they have to face other than King Inferno, Scourge and Fiona? Would they be able to get the teleporter working in time to head back home?

Sonic heard shouts coming from behind the large forcefield and heard something dissolving close by. He assumed that was the giant sphere that protected the palace being powered down. This place was very non-modernized to have such technology, so the forcefield must've been provided by Scourge.

The Blue Blur cracked an eye and saw the Anti-Silver stride forward towards the castle doors, to which they creaked open and allowed him entrance. Stepping inside, the Fastest Thing Alive could vaguely make out his surroundings. They were in the main courtyard of the fortress, which didn't have much aside from a lava waterfall and piles upon piles of stones. The ground sizzled and popped, and Sonic was able to see that aside from the main entrance to the castle, the entire ground around the courtyard was covered with hot coals.

* * *

 _And scorched earth will crackle under the heroes' feet._

* * *

"Cath, Cath, you do the math! Didn't expect to see you back!" A green blob exclaimed from a distance.

 _Scourge…_ The blue hedgehog thought, pursing his lips together.

"My will is not easily broken, my king. I refrained from slaughtering my captors and acted upon an executive choice to bring them before you," Catharsis replied. "It fills my being with fantastic…joy…to be in your presence once more, Scourge. As is the same with you…Fiona."

Sonic heard the hate drip off of Catharsis' pronunciation of the evil fox.

"Just glad you didn't screw up again, Catharsis," The girl spat.

"The day is still young, fox," A new voice stated, and the Blue Blur could slightly make out a different figure walk out from behind the two towards the heroes. "Besides, I hope he does make a mistake. My trigger finger itches."

"Perhaps I should not have wasted my talents and strength on these worthless heroes and instead prepared to extract your vocal cords from your windpipe, Prince Ash," The black hedgehog hissed. "It is preposterous for you to focus on your finger itching after I have ground it into dust."

Ash raised his hand to strike the Anti when another figure cleared its throat from behind him. The cat narrowed his eyes and slowly lowered his arm back to his side before turning and bowing to a much larger figure walking towards Catharsis.

"I won't have my general chide you about being a failure when he is the very definition of the word, Catharsis," A booming voice assured. "Please, take them inside and into our dungeon area. We have yet to wake Blaze and proceed with our plan."

* * *

*With Blizzard*

"…We have yet to wake Blaze and proceed with our plan."

 _So she's still knocked out from earlier when Spooky over there took her to this place? Wow. The force is strong with this one,_ The icy cat thought, smirking.

Blizzard felt himself being weightlessly dragged through the air and into the palace, where the putrid smell of burning…everything…filled his nostrils.

 _Almost as bad as one of Shock Charge's socks…_

"Wait, Cath," A voice that belonged to some green hedgehog called out, and all of the heroes came to a stop. "That one…The, uh, cat. He looks familiar. Is that…?"

"Blizzard, my liege. Your eyes fail to mislead you," The black hedgehog confirmed.

A high pitched wheeze came from behind Blizzard followed by some coughing. Scourge muttered something under his breath and griped about the metal mask covering his face before waltzing up behind the frosty feline and poking him in the back.

"He's working with Sonic and the others?"

"Brainwashed, sir. My attempts to revert him to his Anti form are not in vein, but the process are many descriptions but rapid. Would you…desire to converse with him when he wakes? Aside from his allegiance, he has not changed."

Scourge said yes, and the cat was gently lowered to the ground before being dragged by his feet across the hot ground. Daring to open his eyes when the two guards carrying him rounded a corner, Blizzard caught sight of a metallic android that bore the resemblance of Shadow staring at him with cold, unforgiving digital eyes. The robot clenched its fist before turning around and walking in the opposite direction, which sent a shiver down the hero's spine.

The icy hero was having a mental debate. Part of him wanted to have this conversation with that Scourge guy and find out who he was and what happened to him. Answer some questions that were floating around in his mind, but the other half wanted to break free of the two soldiers, grab Blaze and head back to Mobius like the original plan.

 _Meh…I guess I can chat with the guy. Couldn't hurt…probably. After all, it's not like I'm some easily expendable OC that was never in the original storylines..._

* * *

*With the other heroes, in the dungeon*

Catharsis finished walking down the stairs that led to the dungeon before placing the heroes in their different cells and shutting the doors. He then turned to the two pyromaniac guards and nodded, giving them the signal that they could leave. The two living beings of fire turned and marched back up the stairs, shutting the door once they reached the top.

The heroes began to groan and stretch as they forfeited their act of being knocked out.

"Oh…I think my leg fell asleep…" Tails yawned, shaking his right foot.

"Let's NOT do that again," Knuckles stated, getting up and using his strength to stretch a gap wide enough to walk through and then doing the same to the other cells.

"Alright, spill it," Sally suddenly demanded, approaching the Anti and folding her arms. "How is it that both you and Scourge know Blizzard? No excuses or tricks."

The black hedgehog raised an eyebrow and remained quiet, but Sonic, Silver and Shadow stepped in.

"Alright, so we may have a little explaining to do," The Blue Blur stated, raising his hands in defense and giving a nervous smile. "And I'm sure Silver will gladly tell the whole thing."

"Uh, why me?" The grey hedgehog questioned, shooting a confused look at the Fastest Thing Alive.

"It's because you were inside his head and saw the whole thing," Shadow responded bluntly, turning back to the group. "Blizzard's an Anti. Technically, he's the Anti-Blaze."

An audible gasp echoed throughout the room. Amy put her hands over her mouth, Knuckles, Sally and Tails' jaws were open slightly, Rouge raised her eyebrows and placed her hands on her hips, Mute and Jess crossed their arms, and Dash, Honey, Bandit, Gizmo and Shock Charge just looked at them. They had no idea what being an Anti meant.

"You wanna take it from here?" Silver asked, looking at his silent counterpart before sighing. "Fine. So when Houdini here placed his hands on Blizzard's and my head, the three of us were transported into Blizzard's mind, see? After Catharsis toyed with our feline friend a little, he revealed bits and pieces of information that revealed him to have fought alongside Blizzard when Scourge overthrew his father and became king. An explosion separated the two and somehow Blizzard ended up with no memories of the past and in the Frostbite dimension, where we later found Mute and Jess as well. As of right now, the Anti form of him is separated from the good form of him, which is in control right now. His bad side is chained up in his mind, but it's getting stronger each passing second. That's why his powers are faltering a little."

"Sounds like he's a walking time bomb," Knuckles huffed. "How soon 'til he turns on us and becomes just like Scourge?"

"Uncertain, echidna," Catharsis spoke up. "Different memories or words can either quicken or lengthen the process, but eventually he will submit. Being around his counterpart has brought about these long suppressed instincts. Eventually the two will merge, and he will either be the same as he is now with an even greater control of his abilities, or he will revert back to his original evil form. Ponder which outcome I desire."

"Should we still trust him?" Rouge exclaimed. "Being turned into a popsicle is not on my agenda, dear."

"I almost annihilated all of you and you still trust me," Shadow replied stalely. "And I saw how many soldiers King Inferno has. Pushing away the only guy who has the strongest power to take them down isn't a smart move."

"That brings us back to our plan," Honey piped up from the back. "This place is huge. Where do we go?"

Gizmo held up a finger and ordered his AI to scan the castle for any and all signs of technology, to which he came up with a large generator in the same room as a teleporter and a walking source of energy.

"Weird, bro," The wolf muttered. "Looks like there's a robot in this place."

"Can you do a thermal scan to find Blaze?" Dash questioned.

"Dudette, it's a fiery, hot dimension with soldiers literally made from flames. The results'll be off the charts. Oh, heat signatures everywhere! Behind us! In front of us! The sides. To the window! To the wall! Holy moly!" The inventor responded, waving his arms in the air as he finished his sentence. "Argost, scan the architecture of the palace."

" _Scanning…Processing…Scan complete. Five floors detected. Displaying results. Might I recommend staying away from soldier's barracks?"_

"Duh…" Bandit muttered.

"Alright…So I know where we all need to go. Mostly. Kinda," Gizmo stated, looking at the map displayed on the screen that was strapped to his forearm. "Blaze is probably on the fourth floor where apparently the castle has a medicinal bay? Bruh? Something about geometrical layout at the time? I can guide Tails and I to the teleporter. The armory is on the second floor…"

"Looks like we're gonna have to find Scourge and Fiona on our own," Sonic sighed.

*With Inferno, ten minutes earlier*

The king sat in a chair next to the sleeping Blaze in the infirmary room, looking at Ember, who was standing across from him. The dictator glanced at his unconscious daughter before nodding, giving the princess the signal to wake her up. The feline's hands became engulfed in fire once more as she placed both palms over Blaze's mark on her forehead and increased the heat intensity. Removing her hands after a few seconds, silence filled the room as the two waited for her to reawaken. A pained groan came from the hero as she began to stir, placing her hand on her head as she slowly sat up and blinked a few times.

"Uh…?" The pyrokinetic princess sputtered.

"My dearest daughter…" Inferno began in the calmest and most caring voice he could muster. "…You're alright. You're safe. Home."

"What happened?" Blaze asked in a drowsy tone, but with a hint of sternness in her tone. "Why am I hurting all over?"

Ember raised an eyebrow and looked at her father, who didn't return her gaze.

"What do you remember?" The ruler countered, playing it safe.

"I was…kidnapped and brought here. You said you were my real family and after…a training session…you'd send me back home," The hero recalled, slowly gathering her thoughts.

Inferno let out a hearty yet fake chuckle. "Ember, had I not said she had such vivid dreams with her imagination?"

"You did, father, however I've known that for a while now. I've lived with her long enough," The cat responded, playing along.

"What?" A confused Mobian hero asked.

The large villain turned and gave his daughter an inquisitive look. "Do…? Do you believe all that was real? My dear, it was just a dream. You've lived here, with us, since your birth! We've been under constant assault by the Mobian dimension. Are you having trouble remembering?"

"No…No, I know it's not a dream," Blaze insisted, shaking her head. "My friends—"

"—Your so-called 'friends' are the very people who've been attacking us. They want you to be a part of their team so that they may conquer other worlds, but when I refused, they set their sights on us. We've been fighting them off since," Inferno continued, feigning anger in his voice. "Their most recent attack left you in a worrying condition. Can't you remember?"

 _Yes...Super charging her power source has messed with her memory. She's more easy to manipulate now than earlier._

The purple cat shook her head. "It seemed so real. Are… Are you sure?"

"Precious child," The king replied warmly, placing his hand on top of hers. "I'm your father. I only want what's best, and I'm fighting to keep you with me. Why would I lie to you?"

The pyrokinetic was silent.

"Besides, I believe the worst is behind us. To put an end to these vicious attacks, I've recruited some help from another dimension. We've captured this group that keeps pestering us and they're being held in captivity as we speak. Would, um…Would you like to see them?"

Ember's eyes flashed from Blaze, to her father, then back to Blaze. "Look into the defeated eyes of those who hurt you, sis?"

Blaze furrowed her brow in thought before slowly nodding, not sure what to make of her current situation.

"Come, then," The dictator exclaimed, standing up and helping the newly-converted Blaze off of the cot. "The experience may be unnerving considering your apparently vivid dreams and thoughts, but you must be strong. They may use trickery and false promises to get you to come with them and take you away from me, but I want you to tune it out."

The purple feline nodded as she walked side-by-side with Ember and Inferno as they exited the room. "I will…father."

* * *

*With Blizzard, real time*

The cold cat paced back and forth in the small room he was in, not bothering to sit in the chair in the middle of the room. After the guards had dropped him off in this area, they marched back outside, shut the door and were probably making sure he didn't get out. This was fine, since the cat really didn't want an exit. He wanted answers.

Eventually, the red fox that he'd seen Tails and Amy fighting with earlier opened the door and walked in.

"She was trouble, I knew that," Blizzard said in a gruff and dramatic voice, looking at Fiona. "I could smell it in the air. A foxy lady, bringing nothing but danger to my doorstep. Hello, sweets!"

The villain walked over and punched him in the stomach, making him double over and groan.

"Hello pain!" The cat grunted, rolling over on his back and looking up at the Moebian. "You're very hairy. I thought women were supposed to shave."

He swiftly rolled to the left, dodging a boot to the face before scrambling to his feet and backing away.

"You're triggered. I can see it in your eyes," The cat stated in a mockingly-worried tone.

"How were you once Scourge's friend? You're nothing but a bumbling, clumsy, bad-joke-telling idiot!" Fiona hissed. "I won't allow you to harm him when he questions you!"

"Break stereotypes!" The frosty hero exclaimed. "I will not be judged, and with a mouth like that, it's a wonder any guy would like you."

The fox lunged at him, batting his arms out of the way before grabbing him by the chest fur and pinning him to the ground, hate filling her eyes.

"Mama told me never to hit girls," Blizzard sighed, flinging her off of him and kicking her across the room. "Lucky for me you look like a man."

Just then, the door opened once more, and in stepped a green hedgehog with a leather jacket, sharp sunglasses and a cocky attitude that almost suffocated the hero.

"Really? A leather jacket? This isn't the seventies, Fonzie," The icy hero stated. "Besides, me and this girl her were having a moment. I was gonna knock her back into 8-bit land."

Scourge gave a wicked smile at the Anti-Blaze, removing his shades and running his hand over his head, sleeking back his quills. "Haven't changed a bit, Blizzard. Sit down. I've got some questions for ya."

The cold feline shrugged and made his way over to the chair. "Whatever, ya Muppet reject."

 **And there we go! I know I've been gone a while, but please! I've got college prep to do! You wouldn't want me throwing my future away so I can write chapters for you guys all the time, right? Actually, don't answer that.**

 **Please leave a review with your thoughts! I wanna know what you all think will happen with Blaze :)**

 **More to come…**


	15. The Intensity Intensifies

**Hey! Look what time it is! Seriously. Look. I'll wait.**

 **…**

 **…**

 **…**

 **…**

 **You check? No? Boo on you. IT'S NEW CHAPTER TIME, ALRIGHT? THAT'S WHAT TIME IT IS!**

*With Knuckles*

After everyone had agreed as to where they were supposed to go, the echidna made his way out of the dungeon and split away from the group. He'd been able to get a glimpse at Gizmo's arm pad and took note of where the barracks were, even though the wolf's digital buddy suggested that nobody go there. After all, that virtual bot had no idea what kind of strength Knuckles was packing.

If the hero could infiltrate the main area where Inferno kept his soldiers and demolish all of them, it'd cripple him and prevent the king from launching any counter attack to get Blaze back from them.

And people said Knuckles didn't plan ahead. Well, maybe that was true, but even fist fighters need to have some idea of what they're doing.

The echidna flattened himself against the corner of a wall and peered around the bend, watching as two walking being of fire made their way down the hall towards him. When they neared, the protector of the Master Emerald rolled out from behind his hiding spot and punched a hole through one soldier's heads, dissipating the fire and disintegrating the figure. Turning to the other, Knuckles dodged a spear jab and grabbed the end, bending it downward before grabbing the guard's head and slamming it into a wall, causing the flames from the soldier to die down as it collapsed to the floor and faded, leaving a heap of armor.

Shaking his hands and blowing on his palms, Knuckles pushed forward and finally reached an area marked "Soldier's Quarters."

 _Must be the place…_ He thought, pushing the door open slowly and looking in. He was surprised to find all of the guards standing at attention with their weapons in their hands. They were completely still, but no fire was coming from their heads. They looked like robots waiting to be activated. Reminded Knuckles of Eggman.

 _Still haven't heard anything from the slime ball in a while…_

The echidna slowly and cautiously walked in and made his way to one of the soldiers, waving his palm in front of its face. Upon receiving no response, the hero grinned and beat the tar out of the non-active trooper.

When finished, Knuckles decided to see just how many of these guys there were. Walking to the end of the very large barracks area, the echidna lost count after four hundred. He guessed maybe one thousand or two were stationed here, and all were waiting to be commanded into battle.

The hero shrugged and got ready to smash the life out of another being of fire, but just as he got ready to do so, every single soldier in the area's head became engulfed in fire. They all gripped their weapons and swiftly turned to face Knuckles, staring at him only the fire that encased their rocky skulls.

"You got me outnumbered, huh?" The red hero stated, clenching his fists and finding his voice after a few moments of shock. "You poor souls…"

* * *

*With Tails and Gizmo, fifteen minutes earlier*

Tails had followed closely behind the inventor after they had departed from the group as the wolf followed his map to where the teleporter should be. Sneaking past guards on the way, they eventually made it to an area that had multiple cables linked up to a machine that resembled the one they had back in Mobius, except a bit larger. Many monitors, systems and wires were attached to the portal, and the only other thing in the room was a large glass ceiling above them, which allowed them to see up to the second floor. The room really was massive.

"This place is gigantic…" Gizmo whispered, looking around.

"Hey!" Tails hissed, snapping his fingers and bringing the wolf back to reality. "We gotta get this thing up and running! Limited on time, remember?"

The inventor sighed and nodded before walking over to a computer and began typing on a keyboard.

"Tails!" Silver crackled through the young genius' earpiece. "Blaze isn't in the med bay! I need to know where she's gone."

"One sec," He responded, turning to his companion. "Blaze isn't where you said she was. Can you scan again?"

"Again, searching for heat signatures in a fire dimension isn't a good idea. If she's not there, then I can't help. He's got some Jedi mind tricks, right? Tell him to use those!" Came the reply.

"Can't scan, Silver," Tails said reluctantly, messing with some wiring. "Can you use your abilities to search for her thoughts?"

"I'll try," He sighed before signing off.

* * *

*With Mute and Jess, fifteen minutes earlier*

Jess had quickly dispatched the two enemy guards protecting the dungeon entrance after the group had concluded their meeting. They'd decided to make a minor edit to their original plan. Jess would go with Mute this time and Bandit would follow Amy, who wasn't too thrilled about the transition.

Internally, the two super soldiers refused to believe that they're feline friend, whom they've fought alongside with for a little while now, was actually a villain in disguise. If his secret evil plan was to kill them with puns, then he was doing a great job, but other than that, the cat was as kind and naïve as they come. Mute had experienced Blizzard's internal pain before. They both felt that they had been responsible for losing someone they cared for, but in the frozen feline's case, that person was never coming back. It's not like Freeze could pull a magic trick and pop back into the hero's life.

They had a mission to do, now, and before they had departed from the group, they'd agreed that if Sonic and the others banned Blizzard from their team, then Mute and Jess would leave as well. They were brought together by circumstance, but now they'd become somewhat of a ragtag team. Shock Charge seemed to be getting along with the cheetah well, however. It was questionable if he'd stay with them or not.

The hedgehog heroes followed the path that Gizmo had instructed they go on, using the swords and spears they'd taken from fallen fire troops to silently dispatch any passing enemies. Eventually, they reached a wooden door. Pushing it open, they swiftly walked inside and scanned the room for any threats.

None that they could find.

Jess guarded the door from the inside while Mute walked forward and choose some weapons for the two of them. A sniper rifle, automatic rifle, pistol and a couple grenades went to him while Jess got some flashbangs, a shotgun and two dual wield pistols.

The readying of a gun in front of him made the sniper suddenly stiffen. Slowly looking up, he saw a male cat with a smug grin on his face walk out form the shadows with a revolver pointed between the hero's eyes. Jess soon noticed and pointed her spear at the villain. Little good that would do, but that's all she could provide at this point. Any movement for her newly acquired weapons would endanger her boyfriend's life.

"Mute the Hedgehog…" The mysterious feline purred. "You used to be a loyal soldier for the council members in the Frostbite Dimension. I remember you. You lead multiple attacks on our dimension."

"In case you were too busy playing with yarn to hear, I don't work for them anymore. They're dead 'n gone," The hedgehog replied coldly, soon recognizing his foe. "Prince Ash… This is your home. Inferno's your dad. Blaze is your sister. You were responsible for the loss of thousands of civilian lives on our turf many years ago."

His assailant smirked. "Glad you haven't forgotten me. I guess old soldiers never die, hm?"

Mute narrowed his eyes. "I'll make sure you're in exception."

The two heroes ducked just before Ash fired a shot where the sniper's head once was. Jess moved to her left to flank from the side while the assassin opened fire on the prince.

* * *

*With Shadow and Rouge, fifteen minutes earlier*

The two G.U.N. agents decided that the best area where they could provide a distraction while having the most room was in the main hall.

After the team of heroes split up, Shadow caught a glimpse of Rouge whispering something to Knuckles before the echidna nodded and jogged off. It made the hedgehog's stomach churn.

The two waltzed into the surprisingly empty room and looked around, not finding any soldiers. Walking over to the main door, Rouge attempted to push it open, only to find that it wouldn't budge.

"We're locked in," She said to the Ultimate Life Form, slowly scanning the room before picking up some commotion up ahead using her enhanced hearing. "But it doesn't seem like we'll be alone."

Strolling into the room, an angry looking female cat stood at the far end of the floor with her hands encased in fire while a bunch of soldiers ran into the room and encircled the two heroes.

"Don't surrender," The girl spat. "I wanna burn something today."

"From the looks of it, you already torched your face, darling," The bat taunted, receiving a small smirk from Shadow.

Ember huffed and glared at them before turning to the soldiers. "Kill them."

* * *

*With Honey, Dash, Shock Charge and Sally, ten minutes earlier*

The heroes took their fighting stances and looked at the massive number of fiery soldiers that surrounded them. They certainly did their job at creating a distraction alright, but they hadn't done anything yet except walk into the room and look around before they were quickly encased by Inferno's soldiers.

"Please don't fight!" Solar called out from above. "You seem like nice people and I really don't wanna hurt you! Maybe we could be friends, instead?"

"Tell these walking fireplaces to stand down and heck, I'd be good with painting our nails!" Sally shot in a sarcastic tone.

"Sorry," The feminine feline replied in an innocent tone. "But my dad is already angry with me, and I don't wanna let him down again! So, um…If you're not gonna give up, then, uh… Guards, you can attack 'n stuff."

The fiery beings clutched their weapons as they closed in on the four heroes.

* * *

*With Blizzard, fifteen minutes earlier*

"…And that's the last thing I remember, chief," The frosty hero explained, finishing his story to Scourge. "Hey, you think you could call off Courtney Love over there? She's been giving me the stink eye for the past eight minutes."

Scourge smirked, tapped his earpiece and nodded a little before saying that "he was on it" and signing off. Fiona received a nod from her boyfriend before drawing her two pistols and leaving the room.

"That's right! Go haunt a pizzeria or something," Blizzard called out before turning back to the green Anti Sonic. "Man, you could do so much better."

"She's gotten me out of a lotta jams. She's just fine for me," Scourge replied. "Besides, from what I hear, you're not only single, but you get singled out in Sonic's group. An outsider."

"Nah…They just don't like my jokes is all. That's the one good thing about you, though. You don't mind my puns."

"You've fought with those guys…what? Once? What was the outcome?"

"We won."

"And your home was tossed into anarchy. That's what Sonic and those others do. You don't want to help them ruin any more lives, do you?" Scourge pried, giving Blizzard a blinding white smile. "I mean, you may not remember it, but you knew me before you knew those other guys."

Blizzard thought for a moment. "Nah. Still like 'em."

The friendliness diminished from the Moebian king's eyes. "Fair enough. I guess you'll just see for yourself what they can do. But ask yourself this: when the rest of the group finds out that you're an Anti like me, do you think they'll want to keep you around? My door's always open."

The villain paused for a moment as he tapped his earpiece again before standing up.

"Now if you'll excuse me… I've gotta beat the life out of said hedgehog. The guards will force you to stay here unless you care to join us later."

With that, Scourge left the room.

* * *

*With Inferno, twenty minutes earlier*

After taking his daughter out of the med bay, the king traveled down the multiple flights of stairs. Everything was going perfectly. Not only were the Mobian heroes locked away in his dungeon, but he'd successfully converted Blaze to his cause with some simple manipulation. Everyone was going to get what they wished.

Once they approached the dungeon door, the dictator frowned when he didn't see his two guards protecting the door, but dismissed it, assuming his pathetic son called upon them for some pointless task. Walking down the stairs, Inferno quickly contained his rage and panic when he found that all the cells were open and that his prisoners were gone.

"Please, dear. You must stay here while I take care of some things. The prisoners have escaped. Don't move. Understand?" The king ordered, receiving a confused and stern nod from Blaze.

The king could see the spark of fury ignite in her eyes. She didn't like being restrained or sidelined, he knew, but he was purposely getting her riled up for battle later.

The villain stormed up the stairs and beckoned two soldiers to summon all three of his children. After a few minutes, they arrived before him.

"Ash, protect and secure our new weapons that Scourge gave us to modernize our army. It is vital we keep those in order to successfully take over Mobius. Ember and Solar, you must track down these prisoners and bring them to their knees. Don't allow them to escape. Understand? I want Scourge and Fiona out here tracking down this…Sonic…character."

The three agreed to their father's demands and sprinted off, leaving the king alone. Swiftly making his way to the barracks area, the dictator spied two piles of armor on the ground and saw that the door to the Soldier's Quarters was open. Looking in, he saw one of the prisoners—an echidna—making his way down the row of disabled troops. Clutching his staff, Inferno smacked the round end of his scepter into the ground, sparking to life all of the soldiers in the room and trapping the hero inside.

Smirking, Inferno made his way back to the dungeon and met up with Blaze once more.

"Quickly, daughter. Follow me to the teleportation room. There is still one thing that needs to be done so that these prisoners don't escape."

* * *

*With Silver, real time*

The telekinetic had been searching the palace for a while now, checking and double checking every room, hall and corridor to see if Blaze happened to be in any of them. He was having no such luck, and one of the thoughts he was picking up matched ones that Blaze would think.

He was beginning to give up all hope when he caught a glimpse of a swirl of fire disappear around the corner. It may just be a guard, but Silver didn't want to chance it. Jogging after the tiny flaming trail, the hero rounded the corner only to see the whicker of fire go around another bend and into a room.

The telekinetic sighed before jogging after it once more, rounding the corner and slowly entering the room. He was met with a hard blow to his chest, sending him flying through the air and into a stone wall, cracking the area where he hit.

Silver groaned as he tried to steady his vision, looking up at a metallic version of Shadow, except this one was grey and blue with digital green eyes.

"Hello, Silver," The robot stated. "Remember me?"

"Looks like… Dan Green?" The hero replied woozily.

Mephiles lifted Silver into the air by his chest fur and examined him. "We have some catching up to do."

 **And there's the new chapter! Yaaaay! Did you like it? I know it didn't have as many revelations or plot twists as the last chapter, but I am setting up the story for the big fight scene that I close all my stories with *hint hint. Nudge nudge***

 **Please leave a review with your thoughts!**

 **More to come…**


	16. Let's Get Ready to Rumble

**Jweaks from the future has written this chapter in knowledge that he will have a busy weekend ahead of him when the new DLC for one of his favorite games drops on Thursday. In order to not disappoint the readers, I, future Jweaks, have traveled back in time with this chapter to tide you over until he emerges three days later, ready to write again.**

 **Oh, and the major fight scenes are going to be picking up here as well.**

*With Gizmo and Tails, back in the teleporter room*

"So…you and Honey?" Tails inquired, making friendly conversation as they continued to link the machine up to the mainframe. "You've been hanging out a lot with her. She's nice. Only've spoke with her a couple times, but…"

Gizmo shifted a little as he sparked two wires together. "Yeah. I did have a thing for Dash…the, uh…the cheetah in the group…but I backed off that when I saw the way she looked at that electric dude. I've known her long enough that I can tell what's going on in her head, so yeah…Honey and I've gotten closer. She's cool. Interested in my inventions and stuff. You know anyone like that back in Mobius?"

Tails cleared his throat. "Yeah. This girl who's a couple years younger than me, Cream, comes around all the time to see what I'm working on. She's nice, but…I don't know."

"Sweet."

"Yup."

The two continued to work in silence for a little while, moving around the area in order to hook up, detach and turn on different pieces of equipment.

"So…you're not gonna sell us out when we get back to Mobius, are ya, bruh? I mean, we did kinda tumble through into this mission," The inventor pried.

"Why'd you do that, anyway?"

The wolf sighed. "I'm tired of escorting people and stopping purse snatchers, dude. That's all we do. We never get the chance to do something big and so I thought this'd be our golden opportunity. But, man, this didn't turn out the way I expected. NOTHING'S HAPPENED TO US!"

"You wanna yell a little louder so we can get found out?" Tails hissed, typing some commands into a computer. "I'm almost done linking the signal back to our teleporter in Mobius."

Suddenly, a thundering boom echoed through the area as the doors on the far side of the room were kicked open. A large, hulking cat with a scepter in his hand and a long sword strapped to his belt strolled in with fury plastered on his face. By the crown on his head, the two heroes could tell this was the king of the dimension. Blaze strolled behind him with a similar expression, to their surprise.

"Blaze!" The fox exclaimed, waving to his friend.

"Well that was easy," Gizmo muttered.

"Trespassers!" The dictator yelled, slamming his staff on the floor. "You broke free of your bonds and now you try to escape? I won't stand for it!"

"Well, there's a chair behind you…" Tails murmured, pointing behind the giant cat. "Look, sir, we just came for our friend. We don't mean any harm."

Inferno swiftly turned to the pyrokinetic princess. "See how they use trickery to try to play on your emotions? They claim you as their friend, but what did I say?"

"It was a dream. A figment of my imagination, father," Blaze replied, causing the fox's jaw to hit the floor.

"Oh that's rich! Ha ha! Just dandy, I'd say, dudette! But seriously, this guy's evil and he's got a ton of creepy faceless guards roaming this place. We gotta book it," Gizmo interjected, pointing at the teleporter.

"Watch how I deal with scum like this, child," The dictator hissed, whirling his scepter around and striding towards the heroes.

The wolf and fox quickly backed up as they tried to put distance between them and their assailant. They didn't want to leave the room since they had to finish hooking up the teleporter, but they couldn't delay the cat either.

"You've got something to fight with?" Gizmo asked his comrade.

"I've got this wrench!" Tails responded, showing the tool in his hand.

"Great! We'll smash his little toe and make a run for it!" Came the sarcastically cheerful comment. "You get the portal working and I'll keep Goliath here busy."

The boy genius looked back and forth between the dictator and the wolf with uneasiness before spinning his tails and hovering towards the machine. Gizmo clenched his fists and twisted his forearms, commanding his arm cannons to extend and encase his hands.

"Argost, scan for any weak points," He commanded.

" _No weak points found. Recommended course of action: Retreat."_

"Can't do that!"

" _Creating will and last testimony."_

"Hey! A little more help? Anything I can use in my surroundings to stop him?" The inventor barked.

" _Negative. Multiple hostile signatures detected nearby. Unless reinforcements arrive, you will be overrun in five minutes. I believe the technical term for your situation is 'screwed,' Gizmo."_

"Filthy mongrel! I despise dogs just as much as I do cryokinetics!" Inferno spat, stomping his foot on the ground and commanding a fire pillar to shoot up in front of the hero, making him stumble back. "Blaze, stop that fox from starting up the portal!"

Tails turned to see the purple cat barreling towards him with fiery fists. "Mother."

He leaped out of the way, narrowly missing a flaming blow to the head. Backing up, jumping and dodging attacks all the way, the Mobian hero was doing his best to keep out of Blaze's way.

"Blaze, what's gotten into you? It's me! Tails! Your friend!"

Another punch was dodged.

"Alright, maybe acquaintance is a better word? Still! We've fought alongside each other forever!" He continued.

Blaze kicked the fox back before raising her arms in the air and summoning a sphere of fire to encase the two, trapping both of them inside. "Inferno said you'd be good at deceiving me, but I didn't think you'd be this good. Those so-called memories you talk about are nothing but dreams! Lies! I won't help you conquer any more dimensions! No more ruining the lives of others!"

"Eh, what's that now?" Tails inquired, cocking his head to the side.

"This ends now!" The princess hissed, lunging towards him.

* * *

*With Knuckles, ten minutes earlier, in the barracks*

The echidna ducked, avoiding another jab from a spear and smashed his fist through the fiery soldier. He'd plowed through hundreds of these troops, but there were just too many and due to him getting tired, Knuckles was getting overrun. He knew he had to think of an escape plan, but he didn't know what.

Picking up a sword that was laying on the ground, the hero launched it like a discuss through the crowd of enemy guards, cutting down multiple rows of enemies with ease. Pivoting to his left, the Guardian of the Master Emerald dodged another attack, but shouted in agony when he was stabbed in his right bicep, making one of his punching arms null and useless.

Backing away from the many soldiers that were closing in, Knuckles frantically looked around for a way out. He was on the first floor surrounded by sturdy brick walls, and because he was so tired, he couldn't get through those as quickly as he needed to right now. The only weak point was the ceiling.

Ceiling.

That gave the red hero a very clever and probably stupid idea. Backing up a few steps, the echidna raced towards the horde of enemies waiting for him, jumped into the air, pushed off of the flat edge of a sword, leaped off of a guard's head and smashed a hole in the ceiling with his good arm, breaking through and tumbling across the floor one level up. Grunting and coming to his senses, the hero looked through the hole in the floor and down at the soldiers, which were already turning around and running out the door I pursuit.

"Guys…I got ambushed. I'm injured. What's the status on getting Blaze?" Knuckles questioned.

No reply.

"Hello? Is this piece of garbage working?"

Still nothing.

"Fan-freakin'-tastic," He growled, jogging down a long hallway and into unknown territory.

* * *

*With Amy and Bandit, ten minutes earlier*

The raccoon rolled her eyes for the umpteenth time as the two continued down a stone hallway in search of Fiona Fox. The pink hedgehog had been going on nonstop about her progress with getting closer to Sonic, and even if the ex-thief did know this girl whatsoever, she wouldn't have cared at all about her love life.

"…and it's just a great feeling! He's become more protective over me since the whole incident in the park a while back and we've just gotten a lot…um…Well, I'm not sure what the right word is, but I'm so happy that he's finally opening up to me a little," Amy droned on.

 _Resisting the urge to shank her and run. Resisting the urge to…_ Bandit kept thinking to herself as they rounded another corner.

Once they did though, Fiona did the same at the other end of the hallway. The heroes and the villain looked at each other in surprise for a few seconds before snapping out of it and taking cover behind the stone walls.

"Does she have guns?" Amy whispered, peeking out from around the corner only to squeak and cling to the wall when a barrage of bullets were sent flying her way. "She definitely has guns."

"You got something?" The girl asked, thrusting her arms upward and grabbing her throwing knives as they slid out from her wrist cuffs.

The pink hedgehog nodded and pulled out the grip of her hammer, which extended to its full capacity when she pressed a button on the handle. "Are you thinking what I'm thinking?"

"No. I'm not a mind reader."

Amy scrunched up her face, annoyed with Bandit's sass. "You should be nicer. I was thinking I'd make her lose her balance by hitting my hammer against the floor and walls, and while I do that, you run down the hallway and disarm her!"

"You're not as incompetent as you look," The raccoon replied with a smirk, pleased with her backhanded compliment.

The fangirl stuck her tongue out before wildly smashing her mallet into different things, causing the floor to rumble uncontrollably. Bandit peeked out from behind her cover and saw Fiona swaying side to side, flailing her arms in the air to keep from falling over. Seizing her opportunity, the hero dashed out from behind the corner and started to hop back and forth between the two narrow walls in the hallway, dodging the sporadic gunfire from the off-balance villain. Lunging towards her opponent, the ex-thief shoved the tips of her blades into Fiona's pistols, causing the weapons to have a miniature explosion. The two girls were flung backwards and rolled across the ground.

The raccoon groaned as she looked at her midsection, which had one of her own blades sticking out from her gut. Bandit began to feel slightly dizzy as she crawled towards an unknown direction for a purpose she didn't fully know. Her mind was hazy and she felt like she had to do something to survive. A shadow engulfed her, making the raccoon slowly look up at the panting and battered Fiona, who was standing over her with her boot raised.

Before the Anti could do any more damage, though, she was sent soaring through the ceiling and smashed through the next three floors all the way to the roof thanks to Amy's Piko hammer.

"You're hurt!" The pink hedgehog exclaimed, helping Bandit up from the floor. "Oh…that looks really bad. Horrible, even. We need to find that medicine room that the wolf guy talked about. Get you patched up."

"I'm fine. Let's just demolish that stupid…fox and…get outta here…" The ex-thief huffed.

"No! We need to get you healed!" Amy huffed, stomping her foot on the ground.

Bandit whipped out another knife from her metal wrist cuffs and held it a few inches away from the pink hedgehog's face. "I said…I'm fine…"

The fangirl reluctantly complied with her partner before giving her a boost to the roof using her hammer. Bandit clutched the edge of the hole to the roof with one hand, slowly and painfully pulling herself up while Amy made her way through the holes up to the top of the fortress as well.

The two then turned to face a furious and raggedy Fiona Fox, who was in full retreat.

"Come on!" Amy called, racing after her with Bandit stumbling along close by.

* * *

*With Shadow and Rouge, ten minutes earlier*

"This is supposed to be some sort of challenge?" Shadow huffed, examining the group of soldiers closing in on them. "This is nothing."

"Not very good suspense, if you ask me, dear," Rouge added, pointing her G.U.N. pistol at one of the flaming troopers. "We've been in tougher spots than this."

Shadow whipped out his G.U.N. certified SMG and unloaded what was left in its magazine into as many soldier as he could before using the rocket thrusters on his shoes to zoom over, grab a sword from one of the fallen guards and slice through the horde while Rouge provided aerial support from above. Slashing and shooting, the two heroes made short work of the small army before they focused their attention on Ember, who still had a crooked smile on her face.

"I'd be lying if I said I wasn't mildly impressed," She stated, slowly extending her arms. "But those guys were just to see how you fought."

Suddenly, a stream of fire shot out from either hand and whipped through the air, striking Rouge across the face, torso and wings. The bat was knocked unconscious by the sudden swiftness and ferocity of the attack, and Shadow had to rush over and catch her in his arms before she hit the ground. Setting her off to the side, the Ultimate Life Form took the pistol from her, clutching it in his right hand while the sword rested in his left. A few more soldiers charged into the room, but the dark hero was ready for them.

Heaving the sword in the air, Shadow brought the blade downward upon a trooper, cutting him in half before whirling to his left and firing a shot through the flaming fireball head of another Pyromaniac. Cutting the legs out from under a third soldier and plunging the blade into its chest, the G.U.N. soldier pulled his weapon back out and stabbed the last being made of pure fire through the chest, lifting him in the air before shooting another round through its cranium, pulling the sword back out and letting it drop to the ground.

Hearing a growl of anger from above, Shadow back flipped into the air just in time to avoid a pillar of fire that shot up from the ground, which was commanded by Ember. Sticking the landing, the Ultimate Life Form used the thrusters on his shoes to skate across the floor and move up onto the walls of the room, shooting across the stone like a bullet. Dodging blasts of fire being thrown his way by the angry princess, the hero kept circling the room, getting higher and higher until he eventually pushed off, floating into the air slightly. Turning the sword around so that the pointed end was facing the villain, Shadow hurled the blade like a javelin towards her. The weapon slashed Ember across the side of her torso, and once the dark hedgehog landed, he pointed his pistol at the girl and emptied the cartridge, hitting her in the shoulder and right leg.

"AH! You…stupid hedgehog! I'll burn you at the stake!" Ember snarled, summoning a disc of fire beneath her and riding it out of the room.

Shadow sprinted over to Rouge, picking her up off the ground and shaking her violently. "Rouge! ROUGE! Come on, wake up. We're wasting time!"

Slowly, the bat began to come around. "Uh…Shadow? Hm? Hey! Hands off!"

She tossed his arms to the side, steadying herself. Her partner reloaded her pistol before handing it back to her and briefly filled her in as the ran out of the room in pursuit of the evil princess.

* * *

*With Mute and Jess, ten minutes earlier*

The sniper ducked into the darkness of the room for cover, avoiding Ash's barrage of bullets as best he could. Jess did the same, flanking from the right while her boyfriend went to the left. The prince's pupils became tiny slits as he used his enhanced night vision to detect the two as the moved throughout the blackness. Swiftly turning around, he emptied his revolvers as he sprayed gunfire at the two heroes.

Reloading, he backed away and took position behind a barrel when Mute used an assault rifle he borrowed from the Moebian weapons caches and opened fire on him. When the attack ceased, Ash rolled out from behind his cover only to have the end of a spear strike him in the head, blurring his vision.

The prince quickly stood up and kicked Jess, who was the one who had hit him, backwards and into the dark corners of the room. "Two highly trained soldiers against one is hardly fair!"

"So is framing us for treason and leaving us to be tortured!" Jess responded from the shadows.

The villain moved to a row of crates in the room and crouched behind them, looking across from him to see if anyone was approaching him from the blackness. "That information outpost was of great importance to us! We went back to scavenge anything that was left, but you got in the way! I was serving my father."

Ash rose up from behind cover and fired multiple rounds towards Mute, who was making his way to a barrel that was closer to the villain's position.

"Besides," The feline called. "Pyrokinetics are superior. You served those cold hearted dictators and those slimy cryokinetics. They deserved to be wiped out. Fire and ice are forbidden to collaborate."

"War's over, in case you forgot. The Frostbite Dimension has fallen into chaos. The council members are no more," Mute shot, blasting the crates that Ash was hiding behind with gunfire.

"You two and that cryokinetic cat are the last three members of that fallen era, and our goal of your complete annihilation will not be achieved until you three are dead," Ash hissed. "Besides, if I take you two out, my father will finally accept me as his son!"

A dead silence hung in the room following his statement.

"That's sad," Jess said. "You could use a hug."

"He can hug the Grim Reaper," Mute added coldly, leaping over his cover and cracking Ash across the face with the butt of his gun.

The prince stumbled backwards and sprinted out of the room just before the assassin shot another round of bullets at him.

"There C4 in here?" Mute asked, reloading his weapon.

"Two packages. The rest are grenades," His girlfriend replied. "I'll set the timer for fifteen minutes from now. That should give us enough time to get Blaze and get back to Mobius."

"Get on it and meet by the teleporter. I'm going after Ash," The sniper growled, running out of the room.

* * *

*With Shock Charge, Dash, Honey and Sally, ten minutes later*

The heroes readied themselves against the massive amount of soldiers that were closing in on them, per Solar's command. Shock Charge uncoiled the power lines that were wrapped around his wrists and cracked the ends like whips, sending a surge of energy through them. Honey's fists began to glow an eerie white once more while Sally drew her sword and pointed it at one of the troopers. Dash took out some brass knuckles she kept latched to her waist and put them on before popping her earbuds in.

"Please! This is your, um…last chance to surrender! No violence!" Solar called. "What do you hope to gain from this?"

"Our hero and friend back! Bring Blaze and we'll go peacefully!" Sally ordered.

"Um…That might be an issue!" The feline princess responded.

The troops were already upon them. Dash shot through the crowd like a bullet, disarming as many fiery guards as she could and batting them around like they were made of paper. Honey's fists were hitting her every mark like they had a mind of their own. With every punch, a hole was left where a head or torso once was. Sally continued to slash, jab, shank and block every enemy trooper that neared her, cutting down her opponents like they were flimsy trees.

The fiery auras were collapsing and fading all around the small team, but once Shock Charge unleashed his might, the process was sped up. The echidna's power lines twirled around him, smacking into the ground and enemies. The hero brought his whips close to him and lashed them back outwards, wrapping the ends around the necks of two Pyromaniacs and sending an electric current through them. The two soldiers quivered for a few seconds before dropping their weapons and collapsing to the ground, seizing violently without making a sound. Coiling his weapons back around his forearms, Shock Charge sparked his gloves and thrusted his arms downward. A rumbling was heard from above before two powerful lightning bolts smashed through the ceiling and connected with the massive horde of enemies all around them, disintegrating their foes upon impact.

Dash kicked the last trooper into the air before rapidly beating its flaming head inward and forcefully kicking it into the ground. The heroes then, panting and exhausted, turned to face a pale Solar, who's legs were shaking and was sniffling.

"No…No no no…" She whimpered before pivoting on her heels and sprinting out of the room. "Heeeeeeeelp! Please!"

"Come on! We can't let her get reinforcements!" Sally coughed, to which the group agreed with a series of grunts and sighs. "Man, I'm outta shape."

Another round of grunts and sighs followed before the heroes ran after the retreating cat.

* * *

*With Sonic and Catharsis, fifteen minutes earlier*

"I sense Scourge lurks about the area. He is near," The Anti-Silver stated, looking around. "His thoughts betray him. He still fails to realize that my allegiance has been altered."

"Seriously, I can only understand about a third of what you say," Sonic responded, looking around the large area.

They appeared to be in some sort of dining area, waiting for the villain to arrive. Catharsis was luring the Anti-Sonic towards them by telepathically telling Scourge where he was. The black hedgehog could project his thoughts into the green king's mind, and Scourge would in turn think of a response, to which Catharsis picked up. As far as the evil hedgehog knew, Catharsis was fiercely combating Sonic, but was losing and was now retreating into the dining area.

The trap was set.

"He will arrive in moments. I shall take my leave until the opportune instant. Only then will I return to assist in combat," Catharsis sighed. "I desire to use this leverage in order to assist in his downfall. He does not possess the knowledge that betrayal has found him yet."

The Anti-Silver then floated out of the room, shutting the door behind him.

"Alright…bye, I guess," The Blue Blur muttered, looking at the door and only turning back around when he heard the door on the opposite end of the room open. "Took you long enough, ya re-skin. Glad you decided to hide your face behind a mask."

"And here I thought I wasn't gonna get to drop someone again today," Scourge snorted. "After I bring you to your knees, I'm gonna make you my personal servant back in Moebius. That is, after I make you watch your homeland get wiped out."

"Enough climatic taunting. That's too cliché. Let's get straight to the beating," Sonic growled, cracking his knuckles.

"Right. Your beating," The Anti laughed, taking a fighting stance as Sonic rushed him.

 **What chapter is this? 16? Oh yeah! It is 16! And what's that? All of my stories end close to chapter 20 you say? That means we're nearing the end of part 1 you say? Why, you sleuth, you're correct! Two chapters remain in part one, and my are they gonna be important!**

 **Please leave a review with your thoughts!**

 **More to come…**


	17. AN: Got Your Hopes Up, Didn't I?

**Hey guys! Generic annoying FanFiction writer #4,307 here! I know I've fallen off the ball when it comes to updating for you guys, and if it weren't for grades, college, sports, family, friends and life, I'd be updating nonstop every hour! But as it is, there are only 24 hours in a day, and those are filled with working and sleeping!**

 **But fear not! Since I'm non creative in any way and am on the cat level of being lazy, I'm uploading this exact same author's note to all three of my current stories! Below are the days when you can expect an update from me! And feel free between now and when I die to roast me in the reviews!**

 **KFP Next Gen Finale (Part 2 of 3): Nation of Evil** **= April 15th, 2016 (For real this time)**

 **Sonic Legends Finale (Part 1 of 3): Inferno** **= April 23rd, 2016 (We're, like, two chapters from the end of the story)**

 **Tag Team** **= April 17th, 2016**

 **Now, providing no one in my family bites the dust or my stupid track meets get moved to those posting days, those chapter will be up and good to go. All of them will be super-good to make up for my leave of absence.**

 **If it weren't for my English teacher always assigning essays, I'd have those chapters up much sooner. #StopEstes2k16**

 **And for my loyal followers (who are insane enough to stick with me through my sporadic updates), I've got some questions:**

 **KFP readers:** **What do you think is gonna happen next? What'll become of Zina and Dega? How will Tang handle holding down the fort while the masters are away?**

 **Son** **ic** **readers: As we near the end of part 1, do you think they'll be able to save Blaze in time? Will Blizzard give in to his Anti side? Will Catharsis betray everyone?**

 **Tag Team readers: Did you find the hint that I placed in the previous chapter? Hint: Look back at the criminal name abbreviations in the messages a couple chapters back.**

 **So moisturize your dry palms and wipe the sweat from your brow, because I'm back at it again with those white vans (I'm so sorry plz don't kill me) and updates. More to come... ヽ༼ຈل͜ຈ༽ﾉ**


	18. Meet 'n' Greet

**AAAHHHH! The new chapter wad supposed to be up days ago! Gizmo! Increase my computer speed! Shock Charge! Boost the power! Tails! Get rid of any viruses! Blizzard! Don't freeze my laptop!**

 **Things! Stuff! Action!**

*With Silver*

The telekinetic's eyes fluttered briefly as he took in his surroundings. He was sprawled out in a wooden chair in a pretty barren room. Some lights flickered in the ceiling, but that was about it aside from the metal monstrosity that was sauntering in front of him.

"Who…?" Silver sputtered, still dazed from the sudden brutal and blunt attack.

"Hm. You don't recognize me, Silver?" The robot hummed. "Maybe it's my new metallic appearance. Haven't gotten ahold of all the functions yet."

"Voice sounds familiar…" The hero murmured, focusing his eyes on his foe. "Mephiles?"

"In the flesh, as it were," The villain stated, extending his arms and showing his sleek, sharp figure. "Surprised to see me?"

"You're dead. We killed you and Solaris and then reset…We reset time! We changed the past so you never existed! You're not supposed to be here!"

Mephiles let out a low, computerized chuckle. "Do you know what it's like to be on the brink of death in a blank universe? Of course not. The setting in which you destroyed Solaris, killing Iblis and obliterating myself, is not a universe or a timeline, but a void that travels throughout every reality and dimension. Yes, when you killed Solaris, Iblis and I were briefly separated. He died, but a minute part of my original crystalline form survived, containing my memories and knowledge."

He walked over to Silver and bore his digital eyes into the hedgehog.

"That piece floated around for years until my consciousness began to recover. I had to learn about my surroundings and where I actually was, and when I found out, I began to practice my influence in small, insignificant dimensions and realities. I found I could project my thoughts into people's minds and have brief conversation with them. For fear of them rejecting anything I said due to my real name, I went under the alias of M. It was then I realized that it was possible for me to escape that wretched pit of nothingness. I saw the reality where Sonic reset the timeline to prevent any of the events from happening."

The droid turned away from the hedgehog and walked towards a window, looking out at the lava flowing from a cliff.

"When he did this, the events that were stitched together were broken apart into fragments and scattered. To you, the events never happened, but from my eyes, I saw the pictures of the past, displayed on a screen-like frame, shattered and were sent away from each other. It took many more years, but I eventually re-stitched the timeline together, negating the reset that Sonic and Princess Elise performed."

"That's why I began to remember what had happened before! That's why everyone is able to recall that incident!" Silver exclaimed, rising from his chair.

"And it was done so slowly and carefully that you didn't even realize that you shouldn't have those memories," Mephiles hummed. "After the timeline had been repaired, I sought out a being whom I could influence in order to bring me out of that hole in space. I found this castle and began communicating with the king and prince here. I gave them the locations where to find Blaze in exchange for my rescue and rebuilding. They discovered the group she was with and contacted this…Scourge…and made a deal with him. The death of Sonic at the hands of him in exchange for their teleporter. The deal was struck, and once I gave them the coordinates for where I was, the opened the portal and grabbed my tiny shard. I ordered them to bring Ivo Robotnik onto their team in order to build me a new body. And now…"

The demon turned and glared at Silver with malice.

"…Here I am."

"I know you," Silver threatened, extending his glowing blue palm towards the machine. "You double-cross anyone who helps you after they've outlived their usefulness, so why haven't you burned this castle to the ground?"

"It's in a fiery dimension. If it could burn, it would've already," The villain stated plainly. "And my intentions do not have to be revealed to you!"

Silver shrugged, but still kept his gaze on his enemy. "Suit yourself, but the one thing about machines is that they can always be broken."

Silver flexed his hand and encased Mephiles in a glowing blue aura. Lifting him up into the air, the hero saw his foe struggle in his grasp before he clenched his fist. The robot crumpled and crushed under the might of the telekinetic before Silver shot his fingers forward, dismantling the machine and sending the separate parts flying in every direction.

Silver nodded his head in satisfaction as he looked at the broken pieces of Mephiles before jogging out the door to continue his search for Blaze.

What he failed to notice, however, were the pieces of metal melting into pools of liquid steel. The tiny strands of liquid Reformium inched their way towards a common point, clumping together and sticking to different pieces.

* * *

*With Sonic, ten minutes earlier*

Sonic read Scourge's move immediately as he ran towards his opponent and dropped to the ground , sliding under his legs and curling up into a ball and speeding up the side of a wall. Riding upwards onto the ceiling, the Blue Blur made his way over to where Scourge was standing and dropped down. The green hedgehog back flipped out of the way, avoiding the hero's attack before sending a punch towards the blue hero. Sonic's arm shot out and used his forearm to block his assailant before punching Scourge in the stomach and kicking him backwards.

"That mask making it a little hard to see, Scourge?" Sonic taunted.

"Better than seeing your smug face!" The Anti retorted, cracking his knuckles.

Just as he was about to rush the Fastest Thing Alive once more, the king of Moebius was surrounded in a green aura and lifted up into the air. Growling and threatening to do unspeakable things to Sonic's metaphorical grandmother, Scourge struggled to try to break free, but simply couldn't the grip was too strong. His eyes narrowed once he saw Catharsis walk around from behind him and stand by the blue hedgehog's side.

"Cath! What're you doing? What's the meaning of this! Kill Sonic!" The green menace spat, thrashing around.

"And what if I perform this task? For what purpose shall I assist you when, if recollection does serve me, you failed to come to my side when Ash was spewing threats?" The black hedgehog questioned. "I assisted in your coming to power, and since that crimson temptress has wiped her boots on your doormat, you have cast me aside like a fatal plague harbored within me! For what reason should I pledge my allegiance to you longer? A friend, you are no more."

"I took you in!" Scourge barked. "When everyone saw you as a freak and demanded that you should be put down, I helped you and gave you respect! I gave you the boost you needed to become feared and fight off all those who were calling for your head! This is how you repay me? Selfish! Traitor! I'm gonna bury you myself!"

The Anti king began to vibrate rapidly, loosening the hold that Catharsis had on him. After a couple of seconds, Scourge broke free and fell to the floor, glaring at the two. A one on one fight with Sonic was difficult enough, but fighting a vengeful telekinetic in addition was next to impossible. He had to regroup and make a plan.

"I won't forget this!" The green hedgehog seethed before speeding past them and out the door.

"You will fail to escape my wrath, old friend!" The Anti-Silver exclaimed, flying after him with Sonic in tow.

* * *

*With the Knuckles, real time*

The echidna rushed down another hallway in search of his friends. He'd been running and dodging for quite some time now, and even with his increased strength and endurance, he was starting to get tired. He tried to catch a breather for a few minutes, but it was impossible to loose these types of guards. They found him no matter what. Even now he could faintly hear the sound of marching down the hall.

"Sonic? Anyone? Can anyone hear me!" Knuckles demanded, tapping his earpiece and only receiving static. "Ah, come on!"

"What was that?" A voice called from a ways in front of him.

"Sounded like Knuckles," Another stated. "KNUCKLES?"

The voices belonged to Sally and Honey. That meant he was close to at least some backup in order to fight off the persistent soldiers. Running in that direction, the echidna rounded the corner and came face to face with the group of four. They were slightly battered and bruised, but otherwise unharmed.

"Have you seen a cat run by here?" Honey questioned, looking around. "We were in pursuit but we apparently lost her. Did she come down this way?"

The Guardian of the Master Emerald shook his head. "Didn't see nothing. Was too busy trynna get away from those soldiers."

"Where'd she go?" Shadow grumbled suddenly as he rounded the corner and came face to face with the group; Rouge was a few steps behind him.

"Who?" Sally asked.

"That…cat! Where is she?" He seethed, looking around. "She had a head start and we lost her!"

"Man, whoever that feline is, she sure is popular," Dash stated, placing her hands on her hips.

"Guys!" Amy called with glee as she sprinted down a third hallway with an injured Bandit in tow. "Has anyone seen Fiona? We were chasing her and she just…vanished! Sonic could be in danger! We have to find her!"

"WE have bigger issues," A gruff voice shot before Mute and Jess appeared down another hall, walking into the large intersection where the others were standing. "I didn't know it at the time, but I've fought these guys before. They want Jess, Blizzard and I dead and we just activated a bomb to go off in ten minutes. We need to get Blaze and get out."

Next, Silver rounded the hall and jogged up to the heroes. "Finding Blaze might prove more difficult than we thought. I haven't seen her at all, but I have run into Mephiles."

"Mephiles?" Shadow hissed, clenching his fists and vibrating in fury. "How…? He's dead! Dead! We destroyed him and Iblis! We reset the timeline! How did…? We reset it! W-We shouldn't remember this! HOW IS HE ALIVE?"

Silver flinched at Shadow's outburst. He remembered the grudge he had against the rocky villain, and the fact that said enemy was supposed to be have obliterated and erased from their memories wasn't a plus.

"He got the jump on me and explained how it was possible. Sounded like gloating, but I'll tell you all the whole story once we find Blaze and get out of here. The President ordered us not to start a war with these people, but this is spiraling out of control and might be heading towards just that," The telekinetic huffed, receiving nods from his friends. "Where's Sonic?"

"Speak o' the devil, here I come!" The Blue Blur exclaimed as he raced around the final hallway that lead to the intersection with Catharsis close behind. "Where's Scourge? We had him on the run and he vanished."

"I see a reoccurring theme here," Knuckles said grimly, not losing focus of the unbelievably close sound of marching down the hall. "I'd love to have this talk here, but I've got a lot of soldiers on my tail and we're in too narrow of a space to fight them in. We've gotta move."

Sonic opened his mouth to agree with his friend, but didn't have enough time. The team of heroes failed to look down during their conversation, and therefore didn't see that they were standing on a circular glass window.

When the glass shattered and they plummeted through the gap, then they realized.

 **Alright! So there it is! Sorry for the delay, but…ya know…life. This was one of those chapters that would've been too long for one part but probably too short for two parts, but I think I'll be able to make it work. The final chapter to this story is up next!**

 **Please leave a review with your thoughts, or feel free to roast me on my absence. I probably deserve it.**

 **More to come…**


	19. Author's Note: Comeback

**They say there once was a writer who could think of unique stories with twists to keep his readers guessing, all while balancing three different stories in three different fandoms at once; a writer who could develop fresh characters with new backstories that were tied to the original characters, but yet held their own as their own separate tale. The more he wrote, the more attention and feedback his work obtained, until he became a somewhat well-known author in the fandoms he wrote for. However, one day, he vanished. Due to the intense amount of pressure at his college and the death of his childhood Golden Retriever, he both lost the motivation to write and hit writer's block.**

 **However, from the mist, he returns, fully recovered from his loss and with a general idea of how to balance his schoolwork. In that time he was gone, he was able to figure out each general direction he wanted his stories to go in while keeping them interesting, thrilling, suspenseful and somewhat grounded in a basis of reality.**

 **He steps forward, having practiced what he was going to say for his prolonged absence. He is ready. Opening his mouth and with a gleam of creativity, playfulness and mischief in his eyes, he asks…**

…

…

…

" **How's it slouchin', my bro-hams?"**

" **Best introduction ever" 10/10 – IGN**

 **So after that weird intro/explanation, we get to this part. Everything in there is true. College has been kicking my butt for the past month, but I think I've found a way to manage the workload. And yes, my Golden Retriever, Daisy, died back in August on my birthday. She was 12 and was, sadly, riddled with cancer. We didn't have enough money to go through with an operation, and even if we did, we found out she was anemic, meaning that once she started bleeding, she couldn't stop. That meant even if the surgery was a success in removing the tumors, she would have bled out. There was no real way to save her. And while I still miss my puppy, I'm happy she passed in her sleep in our home next to my mom, for whom she probably cared the most for. Anyway, I've coped with this and have put it behind me, because after that, I lost my motivation to write. So for those of you who were asking where the new updates were, that's why I didn't even put up an Author's Note. I felt like I would owe some kind of explanation, and it would've saddened me too much at that time to recount all of this.**

 **But now I'm back. I'm going to update my KFP and Zootopia stories and finish off part one for my Sonic story. Answers will be revealed in the Zootopia story as I go along, a sinister plot will come closer to fruition in the KFP story, and an epic and unforeseen stand will take place in the final chapter of the Sonic story. And a message to the Zootopia readers: I feel like I'm about to jump the shark with the flamethrower. I'll explain how that came to be and dial it back a little on the ridiculous scale from now on.**

 **I'm planning on updating all of my stories at the same time, which means I'll be writing three different chapters for three different stories. Expect these to be posted on the 6** **th** **or 7** **th** **of October. For real this time. I don't expect anything else to happen to prohibit me from updating. It's been far too long and I've missed you guys.**

 **And if this message sounds a little less energetic than you're used to, that's because I stayed up until 2 this morning studying for a test, had a double-shot coffee a little while ago and am now feeling the crash.**

 **So sorry for the downer AN, but that's why I was gone for so long. But now I'm back. I know I say that a lot, but I won't be held down by this any longer. Now… IT'S TIME TO WRITE!**

 **P.S. For an undecided amount of time, I'm going to have a picture of my Golden as my profile picture on here in memory. For the two people that actually check my profile from time to time, that's the reason for the picture change.**


	20. Phoenix

**Guess who's back?**

 **(Bum bum)**

 **Back again?**

 **(BUM)**

 **Alright so sorry for the long wait for this final part of this story. I would say it won't happen again, but you never know what's gonna happen ¯\\_(** **ツ** **)_/¯**

 **Enough dallying! Onto the final part of part one!**

*With Tails, a few minutes earlier, in the teleporter room*

"This is like a deadly game of DDR!" The fox heard a distressed inventor call out as he dodged another attack.

Tails, personally, could somewhat relate to what Gizmo had described. He'd been dodging fiery attacks from Blaze for quite a little while now, and he was starting to get tired. His palms were sweaty. Knees weak. Arms were heavy. And in addition to his growing desire to curl up into a ball and sleep for a few decades, he couldn't shorten the fight by fighting back. Whatever mind control or spell the king had put over Blaze had made her a little loopy, and now she saw her friends as enemies and her enemies as her friends. Despite this, Miles still refused to fight back against the purple cat and hurt her. She was his friend, and besides, if anything bad happened to Blaze because of him, Silver wouldn't be too pleased. Being on the bad side of a psychokinetic is not good, if that wasn't obvious.

"Submit to me and give up!" The pyrokinetic princess growled swiping at the boy genius with her fiery palms.

"I know you're a little hot-headed, Blaze, but please! Let's calm down a little!" Tails tried to assure, leaping backwards.

"You will not trick my daughter any longer!" Inferno thundered from the side.

Deciding to give his legs a break from pivoting, running, dodging, leaping and shifting, the hero began to spin his tails quite rapidly and took to the sky, flying around and dodging fireballs sent his way from Blaze. Upon entering the sky, he noticed that he was in fact not alone.

"Suh," Greeted the brown wolf, hovering in midair by the propellers that had come out of the tech on his wrists.

"What are you doing here? Shouldn't you be—"

"What?" Gizmo cut in. "Down there dodging the enemy of Smokey the Bear or repairing the teleporter while getting BBQ'd at the same time? We need your friends back here so they can divert their attention so I can tinker with the tech and get it all hooked up to get back to Mobius."

It was then that, amidst the fire, chaos and shouting that was originating from down below, that Tails was able to pick up some muffled talking up above them. Stealing a glance towards the ceiling, he could catch a glimpse of Sonic and the rest of the heroes. They were looking a little rough around the edges, with the exception of the raccoon, and were having a conversation while standing on the glass portion of the ceiling.

"Wish granted. Look above us. We need to get their attention somehow so they can come down here and help us!" Miles replied.

"I. HAVE HAD. ENOUGH," King Inferno boomed, whipping his staff around in his hands. "It's time to come down to our level, peasants."

Gizmo scoffed and rolled his eyes. "Plebs."

With immense fury and power flowing through him, the king pointed the end of the staff that had the gem attached towards the two geniuses. They barely had enough time to react as a large blast of magma expelled from the end of the scepter. The two canines hovered away at the last second, successfully dodging the blast, however…

The force of the magma smashed the glass beneath the feet of the other heroes, who were in the midst of whatever conversation they were having. Through shouts and screams, the friends and comrades of Tails and Gizmo fell through, accidentally hitting said two brainiacs on the way down.

* * *

 _Tall or small, all heroes will fall_

* * *

The Mobian warriors slammed into the floor with a series of thuds and cracks, however Shock Charge was unlucky enough to slam into the teleporter itself on his way down. Groaning and slowly staggering to their feet, the mostly reunited team of heroes looked around, realizing the room they were in and who was in front of them. And the first to spot the purple cat was…

"Blaze!" Silver exclaimed, taking a few steps forward but stopping upon seeing the very angry and large king. "Are you alright?"

"Silver…" The pyrokinetic mumbled, examining he gray hedgehog. "I remember you very well."

"You do? What does that mean?" Asked both Inferno and the telekinetic in unison.

"Look, Blaze, we're here to take you home. So just back away from Lion-O and come back with us," Sonic huffed, brushing aside the confusion between the villain and his friend.

"I won't be tricked or manipulated by anyone anymore! Stop trying to deceive me through my dreams. I am home!" The princess seethed, sending a burst of fire in the direction of the heroes, to which Catharsis deflected with a bored face. "Yes, I had fond memories with Silver, or so I thought. My father and sister have told me the truth about those illusions that I held as memories. And although it pains me to see the one whom I thought cared for me siding with my enemies, I will not return with you to destroy more lives. I must end you!"

While the others continued to grill and question their friend, Tails crouched down and shuffled over to the teleporter, activating the final steps. Unfortunately, due to Shock Charge hitting the machine on his way down, he had damaged on arc reactor and had super-charged the teleporter with more power than it should have had. This meant that a timer could not be set for when the portal opened and closed.

It had to be manually opened and manually closed from this dimension, meaning someone would have to stay behind to ensure that the rift would indeed close and the king could not get through. To prevent him from simply reactivating the machine, said person who stayed behind would also have to destroy the machine, sealing them in this dimension for a long time—possibly forever until another portal was constructed to bring them back. However, the only one in function back in Mobius was Tails' machine, and it was still in its prototype stage, which meant that it would not be able to work unless some major advancements were made. That would take time.

"You figured it out, too, huh?" Came a voice to the fox's left.

Miles turned to see Gizmo crouched near him, examining the machine with pursed lips. He understood the gravity of the situation as well. Only he and Tails had the knowledge of how to power down the machine before destroying it, which meant that when it came down to who was being left behind, it was either him or the fox.

Tapping his earpiece, Tails communicated what the situation was to the other members of the group so as not to arouse suspicion within either the king or Blaze. No one made any movements away from where they were, but judging from their pained expressions, it was clear they understood the message.

"Man, that's cold," A voice crackled in reply over the intercom.

The voice belonged to the only one who wasn't in the group.

"Blizzard, where are you?" Tails heard Mute hiss. "We've got a situation, so either get your butt over here to help us or I will hunt you down myself. You better have a good reason for why you haven't been helping us."

"Uh…no, but don't get your gun all jammed. I'll be there in three…two…and…"

A loud fit of coughing echoed throughout the whole room, cutting off the sentence that Sonic was using to try to convince Blaze that he as well as the others were the good guys. Everyone in the room looked up as the blue and white cat descended from above, hacking and choking on the fumes from the fire while being supported by a whirlwind of ice and snow.

"Man…didn't take you guys for smokers," The icy feline huffed after catching his breath. "Especially you, Blaze. Thought you had better hygiene than that."

"He is the last cryokinetic, daughter. The last of those who attacked us years ago and forced your mother to separate you from us!" The dictator growled, pointing at the feline.

"Uh, I never did such a thing. If you're lumping me in with my old leaders, then that's stereotyping, and I don't appreciate that," Blizzard tsk'd. "I'll sick PETA…or whoever…on you for that!"

"My old memories misconstrued how evil you were!" The purple cat muttered, glaring at the feline. "I will put you down!"

"Easy, psycho. You and daddy have a set over there," Came the reply before sending a swift blast of ice towards the two unsuspecting cats, knocking them backwards.

The frosty hero then turned and landed in front of the group of Mobian heroes, folding his arms and cocking his head to the side.

* * *

*With Silver*

"What did he do to her?" Silver said through gritted teeth, staring daggers at Inferno, who was a little drowsy from the blast.

"Mind control is my best guess. Maybe brainwashing?" Tails replied, examining the pyrokinetic from afar before shaking his head. "We can't fight them here. Not like this."'

"He's right," Sonic added. "From what you guys've told me, it sounds like we were caught off-guard and came severely unprepared. This massive army, Scourge, Fiona, Mephiles, Blaze's siblings—we were expecting resistance but not on this scale. It looks like here, they're ready to go to war and Mobius doesn't even know what's coming."

"We need to buy time to let the President know what the situation is so we can build defenses in case this gets farther out of hand," Shadow added.

"But Blaze—"

"Can't be helped right now," Knuckles seethed, cutting a concerned Silver off. "If she's brainwashed like Tails thinks she is, then we aren't gonna be able to snap her out of it quickly. We're running out of time to prevent this attack, and if we don't find an exit now, we're gonna be stuck here."

"Which means Mobius is doomed," Rouge said, shaking her head. "Knucklehead's right. We need to retreat back to our dimension and let everyone know what's coming."

Silver looked absolutely crushed and dejected, but quickly recovered. "Then you guys go, but I'll stay behind and help shut down the teleporter. I can't leave Blaze. I won't."

"Silver…" Amy began.

Silver suddenly felt something very chilly on his left shoulder, and he turned his head to see Blizzard's glove resting there. It was so cold that he could see the frozen air wafting around the cat's hand.

"Yeah…No. You're leaving with them," The cold feline said firmly.

It was the first time that the telekinetic, or really anyone in the group, had heard him speak so directly, sternly and confidently. Usually he was quick to make a joke or a pun, which is why many expected him to follow up his previous statement with one or his face to crack into a grin. Nothing. His mouth was a flat line and his eyes were slightly dilated, which were starting to drown out his ice blue pupils.

"I know you all know about my…issue…I've got going on. And no, I'm not talking about the fact that I'm lactose intolerant. A cat that can't drink milk. Har, har. But yeah. I could see it in all of your guys' faces when I dropped down," Blizzard said grimly. "To be honest, the longer I'm here…around her…the more I'm losing control. I feel it affecting my powers…my mood…my personality…I'm changing even though I'm trying not to."

Blaze and Inferno groaned in the background as they started to regain their composure and move around.

"Fire and ice are natural enemies, so I guess it was only a matter of time before this happened. That's why I've gotta stay behind to help shut down the teleporter instead of you. If they do break through, it'd be helpful to have a telekinetic to quickly shut them down, but a crazy Anti? Not the best idea," He continued with a smirk. "I can balance out their power for as long as possible and maybe even push their plans for invasion back. That's why I'm staying and you're leaving. Besides, it's not good for the soul to fight against someone ya love."

" _I would know."_

Silver was able to pick up that thought that rang out through the cat's mind. It was true, though. For someone who didn't have much common sense and put jokes before much else, the cat made some good points that weren't just targeted for his benefit, but for Mobius' as well.

* * *

 _And a heart will be broken by the white out's call_

* * *

"Insolent…" The heroes heard the dictator growl as he began to rise to his feet.

"So who's staying behind to shut down the teleporter?" Rouge questioned.

Tails began to raise his hand, but was batted away by Gizmo's who in turn raised his higher.

"What the heck, right? This'd be the most heroic thing I've done in my life. Might as well go out with a bang," He sighed. "Sure gonna miss pizza, though."

"You think you're staying behind without me? Geez, Giz, I thought we were closer than that," Dash said, poking the wolf. "There's no way I'm letting you hog all the glory out of this fight. If you ever came back, I'd never hear the end of it."

"I'm bound to you by law. If I go back, I'd get arrested. Besides, I can't pass an opportunity to stab people," Bandit added, stepping forward.

"You helped me when I was in trouble, and I want to return that favor," Honey chimed in, stepping forward and clasping the inventor's hand in hers.

"We said we'd stick with you until we got the Frostbite dimension back to the way it should be, and we intend to stick to that," Jess commented, stepping towards Blizzard with Mute by her side, who nodded in agreement.

"You guys saved me from captivity and provided me with a home when I really had nowhere to go," Shock Charge said, folding his arms and looking at the cold cat. "The least I can do is help you through this fight."

"I will fail to rest and flee unless my nemesis Scourge has paid for his despicable deeds towards me. I will personally terminate my service to him," Catharsis exclaimed, hovering towards the rag-tag team of heroes. "I believe that goal is achievable in the addition of your assistance."

Dash, Gizmo, Shock Charge, Jess, Mute, Catharsis, Blizzard, Bandit and Honey all turned to face the remaining heroes that were heading back to Mobius: Sonic, Tails, Knuckles, Amy, Shadow, Silver, Rouge and Sally.

* * *

 _Two heroes will join the two teams of eight_

 _And attempt to change the Mobian fate_

* * *

*With Blizzard*

"Because the teleporter is now slightly broken and has more energy than needed, it's not gonna open a rift back to Mobius right here. Instead, I'm gonna have to direct it away from the machine out onto a plain or something to avoid electromagnetic interference, which would close the portal upon opening. Basically, get there fast and then let us know when the last one is about to head through the teleporter so I can shut it down soon after," The inventor stated. "In the meantime, we'll hold these drool monkeys off."

The group of Mobian heroes, albeit reluctantly, agreed to leave them behind. After Knuckles ran up and punched a hole in the castle wall, revealing the outside of the castle, Sonic lead the charge out of the fortress. Shortly after the group left, Gizmo punched in some coordinates on the machine, and the arcs attached to it lit up. The teleporter was now functioning and the way back to Mobius had been opened. All that was left to do for Sonic and the others was get through it. At the same time, the doors to the room the other heroes were in burst open, and in came Scourge, Fiona, Ash, Solar, Ember and a few hundred soldiers. Mephiles was still nowhere to be found at the moment, it seemed.

"We heard the commotion in here! Is everything alright, my lord? Did our plan to lure them here and capture the Mobians work?" The prince questioned, drawing his revolver.

"Did…it…LOOK LIKE IT WORKED, YOU PATHETIC BUFFOON?" Inferno thundered. "They're planning on escaping and letting their dimension know of our plans. Kill them!"

" _We're at the portal! Most of us have gone through already. Close it in ten!"_ Sonic crackled through the group's earpieces.

Upon hearing the dictator's command, Dash got into a running stance and cracked her knuckles, Gizmo's left arm became encased in metal to form his signature arm cannon while one hand was resting on the teleporter control panel, Shock Charge's eyes sparked with energy while he whipped the powerlines that were attached to his gloves around, Jess and Mute both loaded and readied their weapons, Catharsis hovered higher into the air as his hands became encased in a green aura, Blizzard's fists became encased in ice, Bandit drew her knives and clutched them close to her and Honey's fists shone bright white.

"Kill is such a strong word, though," Dash chided.

"Not for me," Mute muttered.

"You shall fall before us," Catharsis threatened.

"Cool catchphrase!" Blizzard exclaimed.

"You don't stand a chance," Honey added.

"But please try to defeat us. That'd be so much fun," Bandit cheered sadistically.

Ember was shaking with anger a she stepped forward, her hands spewing fire. "This wasn't supposed to happen! No one was supposed to leave her alive! We defused the explosives one of you set after you left, we lured you here and then we were supposed to capture you. You all botched that!"

Blizzard then pulled out a piece of paper behind his back that was marked "Script" and leafed through it until her got to a certain point. "Um…nope this was definitely how it was supposed to go."

Gizmo quickly punched in the kill code for the portal before turning and shooting it multiple times with his cannon. "Won't be able to go after them any time soon, bruh. Sorry!"

By now, Inferno had made his way in front of the rest of the villains, glaring at the remaining heroes. "You want to stop us? To overthrow me and to lock my children and allies away? You'd topple another dimension, just like you did with yours, cryokinetic! You all are just a group of…a group of…of…ANARCHISTS!"

"Write that down," Blizzard quietly whispered to Gizmo, who in turn nodded.

"AND NOW YOU WILL GET TO EXPERIENCE FIRST HAND THE POWER OF THE INFERNO DIMENSION! CHILDREN! COMRADES! MASSACRE THEM!" The dictator roared.

And with that, Blaze and her siblings, Scourge and Fiona, and the few hundred guards that were in the room, rushed forward to take on the newly formed team of heroes.

 **To be continued in** **Sonic Legends Finale (Part 2 of 3): Decimation**


End file.
